A Bunch of Unrelated Stories
by Dawnbuneary
Summary: This is a series of one-shots about my Unrelated AU. Imagine a Ducktales where Huey, Dewey, and Louie weren't related at all. Where Della was just Huey's mom, where Scrooge was just Dewey's uncle and where Donald was just Louie's uncle. What are their lives like? How do they act without siblings? What happens when these three unfamiliar boys meet..?
1. Huey

**Chapter Summary:**

 **A little insight into the life of Huey ends up being partnered with his classmate, Webby, someone who always intrigued him. Huey, being a duck who sticks strictly to the facts, struggles to understand her insane theories and stories. But maybe he could learn how to loosen up...**

* * *

Hubert Duck was a simple duckling. Hubert, otherwise known as Huey to some people, was an exceptionally bright duck. He likes to think he is, anyway. He prided himself on being organized and smart in school. Huey was a Junior Woodchuck, after all. He has to be organized and prepared for anything!

Huey was also glad to say that he was a straight "A" student. Some kids his age might've thought that he was something like a nerd, but he doesn't think so. He just…likes doing school work. That's normal, right?

Speaking of which, Huey was getting ready for school at the moment, as he did every day. Right now, he was eating breakfast, going over a mental checklist for what he needs to prepare for the day. He needs to be ready, after all.

Lunch?

 _Check._

Bag?

 _Check._

Homework?

 _Done and check._

A healthy and nutritious breakfast?

 _Check?_

Huey looked down at the bowl of cereal which he was eating right now. Was this healthy? Mm…good enough. As long as it's enough to get him through the day until recess, then he should be fine.

As Huey was going over his checklist again, he felt a playful hand ruffle his hair underneath his cap.

"Good morning, Huey!"

Huey laughed as he waved off his mother's hand. Della Duck looked down at him and smiled.

"Morning, Mom," he greeted back, fixing the cap on his head. Huey's mom, Della, was wonderful in his opinion. They had no problems, even though it was just them. Della, for the most part, was always very proud of her son and Huey always tried his hardest every day to make sure that never changed.

He always makes sure it stays exactly like that, no matter what.

Della sipped some coffee from the mug she held in her other hand. She was what some of his friends called a "cool mom". He doesn't really know what defines her as a cool mom, though. To him, she's just his mom. He's not really sure about what other moms are like, honestly.

"Are you ready to go?" Della asked, looking at the clock.

Huey quickly puts away his thoughts, consumes the last of his cereal, and nodded. "Yep!"

There he stood at the front of his school. Huey had bid his mother goodbye mere minutes ago and had already started walking towards the building.

As he walked, Huey saw other kids walking in, talking to their friends. There were various things that were very interesting about his school, Huey thought.

One thing was the fact that you could easily pick out each type of friend group there was. He was sure that this was only a stereotype in movies, and it was. However, he could still note several friendship groups who dared not mix together. It was rather strange at first, but it had become normal for him.

Huey did, of course, have his own group of friends. He had plenty who were very similar to him. Most of them were as punctual and as hard-working as he was. He's heard people call him and his friends the "nerdy ones", but he prefers the term the "responsible ones". He just likes it better, that's all.

In reality, his group of friends consisted mostly of fellow Junior Woodchucks.

Huey walked down the crowded corridor, dodging the other rowdy students who were passing through just as he was. It was crowded, but it wasn't anything too bad in his opinion. However, he would appreciate it if he weren't shoved to the side by the stronger kids so much. Other than that, his school was nothing like the crazy schools that are depicted in the media. So he's glad for that.

After making his way through the corridor, Huey had finally reached his locker. He opened it, put his bag inside, took his books out, and then sighed.

Did Huey ever get tired of this bland routine? Not really. He's grown used to it, even though it is somewhat uninteresting. But at least with this routine, he can predict what will happen next and always be ready for it.

That doesn't mean that he doesn't want more out of life- he does- but he knows it will come in due time. For now, he just needs to make sure he excels in his classes so that he WILL have a fulfilling future. That's all he needs to focus on.

That's another thing too. Kids his age always complain about school. They complain about the work, relationships, and teachers. Huey has never really faced problems like these, so he doesn't know what they're talking about.

To him, the school work is fun and important. He doesn't have relationship problems because he's not focused on any of that stuff. And the teachers…were fine. Some were less than fine, but the good teachers make up for it!

He has no idea why people complain.

"Hey, Huey, have you done your homework?"

It was the first class of the day, and as per usual, the student who sat next to Huey in the class was asking if he had done his homework before the teacher arrives.

"Yes," Huey answers, taking out his homework, already predicting what will happen next. He has no idea why it's so hard for the others to just do their work, but hey, it's not his problem.

"Can I-?" the student starts before getting interrupted by Huey handing him the homework. "Thanks!"

"Just…make sure not to copy it too much," Huey warned, not wanting any of them to be caught. The other student dismissively nodded and started jotting down everything Huey had wrote in his own book.

Huey sighed and looked around the classroom. Since the class hasn't started yet, some kids have still not shown up and neither has the teacher. Only the ones who want to be super early are here- students who prefer being early and punctual, and the students who have yet to finish the homework.

"Hi, Huey!"

Huey snapped out of his thoughts and saw his classmate, Webby Vanderquack walk into the room and approach him, a bounce in every step.

"Oh, uh...hey, Webby," he replied, slightly surprised that she had talked to him at this time. Sure, they were friends to a degree, but they never really talked outside of class. Not that he minds talking to her though.

Suddenly, her expression turned somewhat sheepish. "Hey, so um-"

"You want to see my homework?" Huey guessed, judging by the expression on her face. He probably should've guessed earlier that she would ask him something school-related. Webby nodded, smiling sheepishly.

"Yeah! Sorry, I know I usually don't ask you for this and stuff, but I had a really busy week so I couldn't really do my own work so I figured that I'd ask you- IF that's okay with you, I mean, because you know, I know a lot of kids ask you as well and so I figured I would too..!" she rambled all in one breath, trying to get it all out.

Huey merely grabbed his work from the student next to him, ignored the student's protests and gave it to Webby.

"Just be quick. Class will start soon," he warned her, as she took the book from him. Webby beamed.

"Thanks, Huey! You're the best!" she thanked him, giving him a smile before dashing off to her desk to finish off her work. Huey couldn't help but smile slightly.

To Huey, Webby can be an odd duck sometimes. Like, she believes a lot of fictional myths and they would sometimes debate about what's real or not. But even so, at the end of the day, she's still more imaginative than a lot of people his age, surprisingly enough.

Not only that, but she was one of the most unpredictable people in his life, which he appreciated. She was one of the few unpredictable factors in his day. Another reason why he wants to be friends with her outside of class. Perhaps, she'd make his life more interesting.

Webby had returned his book by the time the bell rang. The other students and their teacher, Mr. Quackson, had walked into the room.

"Good morning, class," Mr. Quackson had greeted, somewhat tired.

"Good morning, Mr. Quackson," the students replied back, most in a monotonous way. Everyone other than Huey, who sat up straight in his seat and replied back with more gusto.

"I hope you all did your homework, which I'll remind you is due today," the teacher, said. Huey had a proud expression on his face, knowing that he was fully prepared and organized. He knows that some of the others haven't even finished their work for whatever reason, so he's glad that he's not one of those students.

Mr. Quackson started to walk up and down the aisles of the desks, collecting the work from each student. As Huey was sitting at the front, he gave in his work with his head held high.

When Huey looked behind him, he saw some students give in their work as well, and he saw some who were trying to explain to their teacher why they had not finished it.

It was the usual excuses.

"Sir, my pet ate it."

"I didn't have time."

"I did it, but I lost it."

It was the classic excuses that others used when they were caught empty-handed. Huey shook his head exasperatedly and turned his head to the front again. They wouldn't have to use excuses if they just DID the work…

Mr. Quackson returned to the front of the class, holding the stack of books he had collected from the kids.

"It's good to see that at least some of you were able to complete the worksheet," he said, putting them on his desk. "Now, who remembers what topic were we looking at last class?"

Huey shot his hand up. "Space, sir."

"That's right. Now can any of you name all the planets in our solar-"

Huey shot his hand up again, ready. "Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus-"

A kid behind him giggled.

"-and Neptune. Pluto as well if you decide to count it," Huey answered, ignoring the immature giggle that came from his classmate.

Mr. Quackson sighed. "Yes, that's correct. Thank you, Hubert. Now, who remembers which planets have rings?"

Huey raised his hand once again but did not call out this time. Mr. Quackson took this opportunity to look for a different student with their hands up. As soon as Huey realized that he was not being chosen, the young duck tried waving his hand slightly as a means to get his teacher's attention.

Mr. Quackson pointed at a student who sat at the back of the class, with her hand raised.

"Saturn and Uranus?" she guessed. A few others giggled at the planet's funny name. Mr. Quackson nodded in approval as Huey lowered his hand, disappointed that he couldn't answer it. He knew the answer too…she didn't even include all of them…

"Correct," Mr. Quackson said. "However, there's two more. Does anyone know-?"

"Jupiter and Neptune!" Huey blurted out without raising his hand, taking the opportunity to answer before anyone else can. Mr. Quackson stared at him and gave him a look for calling out. Huey frowned sheepishly and looked down at his desk.

"Jupiter and Neptune have rings," Huey continues, feeling uncomfortable now that everyone was looking at him. "They're just not as visible as Saturn's or Uranus's."

"…Correct."

" _Know-it-all_ …" a student not-so-subtly coughed, making some others laugh. Huey tried not to let this faze him, as it didn't matter. He got the answer right, and that's all that matters.

Besides, this was also normal for him.

He doesn't understand what he is doing wrong, though. He doesn't really understand why his classmates laugh when he enthusiastically answers a question, or he doesn't understand why his teachers don't like it when he calls out to correct them on a mistake. What was the problem? He was just doing what was expected of students…

Why is it so funny that he likes participating in class?

Why is it not good for him to point out others' mistakes?

Huey doesn't understand.

He tries not to let it bother him. He should be proud. He should be proud that he's participating in school, like his mom and the other teachers says he should do..! So it doesn't matter if the other kids laugh at it. They're just…not as enthusiastic as Huey was.

Besides, Huey's doing this for the sake of having a fulfilling future. His life at school will dictate his future. If he does well now, he'll do well when he's an adult…right? That's what he always thought anyway. It's something that these other kids don't understand.

…

Huey thinks about this way too often.

"Well, since we are on the topic of outer space, we're going to focus more on the planets in the solar system," Mr. Quackson said, snapping Huey out of his thoughts. "You'll need to get into partners-"

Huey could see some students making eye contact with their friends, silently establishing a partnership by merely looking at each other.

"-and the two of you will need to create a poster based on one of them."

As soon as he finished talking, some students immediately sprung up from their seats and made their way to their friends, desperate to not be that one person without a partner. Huey was in no rush. He didn't really know who he wanted to be partnered with, nor did he care. He'll probably just end up doing all the work, which was fine with him.

"Hey, Huey! Wanna be partners?"

Huey perked up at her voice. He turned around and Webby was standing right next to him once again, cheerfully asking to be his partner.

"R-Really?" he stuttered, sort of surprised. Webby looked at him, slightly worried.

"Oh, sorry-! Do you already have a partner or-?"

"No, no! I don't!" Huey reassured her, panicking. He was afraid that she was going to leave. "I was just…uh…yeah, sure, I'd be fine with that..!"

Webby's expression calmed down, relief showing on her face. "Okay, good! I was scared for a second, haha!"

"Alright, does everyone have a partner?" the teacher asked. When he got a nod from every student, he continued. "Okay, now, you can choose whichever planet in our solar system that you want to make a poster on. The poster just needs pictures and information. Now, you can get to work."

Huey instantly got focused on the task. He turned to Webby as all the other students scurried around, getting the resources they needed. "So…which planet do you want to do?"

"Hmmm…" Webby hummed in thought, thinking hard. "I don't know. Any ideas?"

"Ah, I don't really mind," Huey assured her, smiling. Webby puffed her cheeks up, thinking.

"Hmm…oh!" she piped up. "We should do Mars!"

"Ooh, Mars?" Huey repeated, intrigued. That was an interesting planet. Mars, named after the Roman god of war. The red planet. Home of the largest mountain in the solar system. "Why?"

"So that we can include something about MARTIANS!"

…

Huey stared at Webby. There was her over-active imagination again. The one that he respected but at the same time, it was a little too imaginative.

"Webby, Martians don't really exist," he told her, looking at her weirdly. Webby gasped.

"Yes, they do!" she insisted, her eyes lighting up with enthusiasm. "They're the aliens who live on Mars! They're planning an invasion on Earth in the near future, you know?"

Huey chuckled. "Webby, all of those stories about Martians are just fictional. You know the difference between fiction and real-life right?"

"Huey, those "fictional" stories have to have been based on _something_!" Webby said, putting her hands on her hips. She shook her head, grinning. "You sweet, naïve boy. They're planning to invade Earth! Right now, they're just occasionally sending in UFOs to scout out the planet, like how we send astronauts to scout out space! I've seen videos of them!"

"Those videos could be fake, you know? People can edit them. Even then, those might not even be UFOs from other plants. They could just be…uh…" Huey faltered. He reached under his cap, took out his trusty Junior Woodchuck Guidebook, and flipped through the pages. "Ah! They could just be drones coming from somewhere on Earth. But just because we don't know what they are, it doesn't mean they're UFOs!"

Webby crossed her arms. "Huey, do you even know what UFO stands for?"

"Unidentified Flying Objec-…" Huey answered almost immediately, pausing when he realized what she meant. "Oh."

"Seeeee?"

"But what you're saying is that they're being sent from Mars. And I'm sorry, I don't believe it," he says, grinning as he put the JWG back under his cap. Webby made a playful, frustrated face.

"Mark my words, Hubert Duck, I will get you to believe it one day!"

Huey couldn't help the smile on his face. "Right."

By the end of the class, Huey and Webby had only finished their research and hadn't actually gotten a start on the poster. Huey suspects it's because they got distracted a lot. They had a lot of small debates about what was real or not- werewolves, ghosts, terra…somethings…

Regardless, they'd have to finish this for homework.

"Um," Webby started when the class was dismissed. "Maybe we should finish this sometime this week after-school…."

"I can take care of the rest if you want," Huey offered. What he didn't expect was for Webby to shake her head.

"What? No..! I can't leave all the work to you!" she says as if it were a fact. "Would it be okay if I go over to your house sometime?"

"M-My house?" Huey stuttered, surprised. "What about your house?"

For once, Webby was the one stuttering. "Uh, my _house_? U-Um…I don't think that's a good idea. It's not a problem if we work on it at yours, is it?"

Huey wasn't really sure why she didn't want to do it at her house, but she probably has reasons. "Of course not, it's fine. Ah, but…do you mind if we do it after school today…?

"Oh, that's fine!" Webby agreed, beaming. "Is it alright if I go with you to your house when school ends?"

"Yeah, that works."

Webby beamed and glanced at the clock on the wall. It was recess and everyone had already gone out to play. "Ah! Sorry, I gotta go. I'll see you later, Huey!"

And off she went, leaving Huey alone in the classroom. It took him a moment to realize what a rash decision he just made.

…Oh geez. What did he just agree to..?! He's not ready to have someone over at his house! It's probably a mess! He needs to clean it up before she sees..! And he even hasn't let his mom know-! Oh no, his mom's probably going to be really embarrassing, too. See? This is why Huey doesn't make last-minute preparations!

Okay, just calm down, Huey. It's not that bad, right? Once they get home, he'll just try to quickly clean everything up before Webby sees the mess. And his mom probably won't be THAT embarrassing, right? She is a "cool mom" after all…whatever that means…

It'll be fine. He just needs to calm down.

…

This was a terrible idea.

Huey heard the bell ring, signaling the end of the day. The teacher dismissed the class, making all of the students eagerly pack up and head out the door, glad that school was finally over. Huey quietly packed up his things, being one of the few students who were still in the classroom.

"Hold on, I'm just gonna grab my stuff really quickly!" Webby informed him as she walked past, flashing him a smile.

"O-Okay," he replied as he was once again reminded that she was actually going over to his house.

Webby grinned and left the classroom, leaving Huey to contemplate whether or not he was going to regret this. No. He just needs to calm down.

Huey left the classroom and stepped out into the crowded hallways of the school, dodging some students who were running to the exit as if their lives depended on it. This was the most chaotic time of the day, in his opinion. It's like he's at risk of getting trampled on at any moment…it wouldn't be the first time, anyway.

Huey dodged the rowdy students and made his way over to his locker. He took out his bag and looked around. Webby still wasn't back, so he assumes that she's still at her own locker.

He heaved his backpack on his back and made his way over to Webby's, avoiding the students who charged past him.

However, as he made his way over, he saw Webby talking to someone, which probably explains what was taking her so long. Huey gripped the strap of his backpack, wondering if he should walk up and let her know that he was there…

Webby was chatting animatedly to a boy in green. For some reason, Huey wasn't sure if he should approach, so instead, he stood a few feet away, waiting for her to finish her conversation. He must say, he felt kind of awkward…

Just as he was contemplating walking over, Webby noticed him standing there.

"Oh! Sorry..!" she apologized to Huey. She quickly grabbed her backpack and shut her locker. She turned to the boy in green. "Sorry, I'm going to a friend's house today. Maybe some other time?"

"Aw, boo…" the boy playfully booed. He chuckled and shrugged. "It's fine. Don't worry about it."

Webby thanked him and skipped over to Huey, a smile plastered on her face. "Ready to go?"

"U-Uh, yeah…" Huey replied, awkwardly. "Let's go."

Huey and Webby weaved through the crowd of students in the hall and made their way out into the schoolyard. Huey blinked as the sunlight hit his face. He saw all the students pour out of the halls, headed for the school gate. Huey and Webby made their way over to the gate.

"Do your parents know you're coming over to my place..?" he asked, cautiously. Webby's eyes widened a bit as it hit her.

"Ohhh..!" she gasped in realization. "THAT'S what I'm forgetting..! Sorry, could you just stay here for a bit? I just need to let my friend know."

"Okay…" Huey replied, not really knowing who she was referring to. Webby shot him a look of gratitude as she ran off and headed towards the gate. Huey, once again feeling awkward, stared down at the ground and kicked a small rock at his feet. For some reason, he always felt awkward when he was waiting for someone. Doesn't everyone?

Luckily, it did not take long for Webby to return to him.

"Sorry! It's all good now!" she apologized, sheepishly smiling.

"Okay, good. My mom's picking us up. That's okay with you, right..?" he asked, nervously. Webby didn't seem to understand why he was so nervous. Huey doesn't really either, to be honest.

"Yeah, of course!" she assured him as they passed through the school gate. Huey immediately spotted the bright red car which his mom drove in. It was with the other parked cars in front of the school. He saw Della in the window, too.

Huey led Webby to the car, praying that his mom wouldn't say anything embarrassing. Please, please, please don't.

Della looked out the window and saw Huey and a girl walking to the car. Oh..!

She opened the door and stepped out of the car as Huey and Webby approached her. Huey could see the grin on his mom's face. Oh great.

"Hey, Mom," he greeted, giving his mom a quick hug.

"Hi, Hue!" she replied, hugging him back. She pulled away and looked at Webby with a grin on her face. "Who's this?"

"Hi! I'm Webby!" Webby introduced herself in her own Webby-ish way, holding out her hand. Della laughed and shook Webby's hand eagerly.

"Oh, so _you're_ Webby!" Della said. Huey's mentioned her before. "You're Huey's-?"

"Classmate. Friend. She's my friend," Huey answered. "Um…is it okay if Webby goes with us to our house today? We need to work on a project."

"Yeah, sure! Do your parents know?" Della asked. She seemed to be cool with everything.

"…Yup!" Webby responded, looking away and nodding.

"Perfect!" Della opened the car door and sat down inside. "Hop in, kids. Get ready for take-off!"

Huey exasperatedly shook his head and opened the car door, letting Webby sit in the back seat first. He then took a seat next to her, hoping that Della wouldn't do what he thinks she's going to do.

"Lady and gentleman, this is your captain speaking." Oh great. She's doing it. "We are now preparing for take-off, so make sure to buckle up!"

Webby seemed amused by Della's plane humor, even though she didn't quite get it.

"She used to be a pilot," Huey explained, seeing Webby's slight confusion.

"Oh! Cool!" Webby exclaimed, genuinely amazed. "I actually know a pilot too!"

"Well, it's the coolest job in the business, after all," Della jokes as she starts the car. "Isn't that right, Hue?"

"Hmmm…" Huey pretended to hum in thought. "That's up for debate."

Della feigned a gasp of betrayal. "Gasp, how dare you? I'll have you know, being a pilot is serious business."

As Della drove, they turned a corner. As they did so, she made a noise mimicking a jet plane's engine, making Webby laugh and Huey flush.

"Mooom..!" he whined, kind of embarrassed about how silly his mom was being in front of his friend. He covered his face with his cap, cringing. "Do you have to make the noise every time we make a turn?"

"Yes, it's very necessary," Della replies, clearly enjoying embarrassing her son. "Why not, right?"

"But judging from your introduction telling us to put on our seatbelts, I thought we were on an airplane, not a jet!" Huey says matter-of-factly, adjusting his cap back on his head.

"It's a...very sophisticated jet!" Webby answers as if she knew this from the beginning. Della laughs.

"What she said!"

Huey didn't bother to refute that. In all honesty, he liked playing along with Della's silly humor most of the time. It was fun! However, when it's in front of a friend from school, he can't help but feel really embarrassed. Still, Webby doesn't seem to mind. She's actually enjoying it, which is good.

It wasn't long before they arrived at Huey's house. As they parked in the driveway, Huey felt a little bit antsy. He had forgotten about how much of a mess the inside of his house was..! He can't let anyone see that..!

Immediately he got out of the car and quickly ran to the front door. Webby and Della followed him afterward, wondering why he looked so panicky.

"Are you okay-?" Webby asked, staring at him weirdly. Huey opened the front door and looked back at her.

"Uh, stay here for a bit, I'll be right back..!" Huey hurriedly says before dashing into the house and closing the door, looking panicked.

As he disappeared into the house, Webby looked at Della, confused. Della chuckled awkwardly. "He's fine, don't worry. He's just really nervous about having someone over at his house."

If Huey had been around to hear that, he would've been even more embarrassed than before. However, the young duck was currently running around the house, picking up any messes that he spotted.

"Why is this house such a dump?!" he said to himself, picking up a random book that he had left on the couch. In reality, his house actually wasn't that much of a mess. But he was worrying too much to realize that.

Huey was now running around with the pile of random objects that he found lying around. He scurried around, looking for a place to put all of it in. He needs to get rid of it all before-!

"Huey, honey, are you done in there?" Della's voice called from outside the front door. Huey froze.

"U-Uh, yeah, hold on..!" He responded, feeling the panic within him grow stronger the longer he kept them waiting. Huey eventually ran over his room and threw the objects in there, making sure to close the door afterward so that Webby won't see. They aren't going into his room, anyway.

Huey ran over to the front door and opened it, seeing Webby and Della waiting there.

"Sorry, sorry..!" he apologized. "I'm done, you can come in now."

He stepped aside and let Webby and Della enter, feeling somewhat exhausted from trying to clean the house in a matter of a few minutes. He followed them afterward, making sure to close the front door.

"So, um…" Huey says walking over next to Webby. "We can work over there if that's okay with you."

He pointed to the living room, which had a couch, a coffee table, and a TV, along with some other small furniture. It was relatively average for a home, but he hoped she wouldn't care. Webby smiled and nodded.

"Okay, sure!"

The two went over and sat on the couch, taking off their backpacks. Huey spoke up, glad that they could finally work on the project without any more distractions. "So I was thinking that we could start-"

"You kids need anything?" Della asked, interrupting Huey as she passed by the living room. Huey groaned.

"Moooom..!"

"Hehe, alright, alright, I'll leave you two to it," Della chuckled. It's not every day that Huey has a friend over, so this was kind of fun to her. Della then left, leaving Huey and Webby alone.

Huey sighed. "Sorry about that."

"Oh nah, it's fine! I like your mom! She's cool!" Webby told him, beaming. Huey smiled, relieved.

"Well, in any case, I got all of our research notes here from school so I think we're good to start on the poster now," Huey says, reaching into his backpack. He pulled out his notebook – which he and Webby wrote in earlier as they were researching.

"Good, because I got the poster paper riiiight here!" Webby excitedly says, pulling out two giant rolls of paper out of her backpack. One was smaller than the other. Webby looked at both of them and held them up. "What do you think? A1 or A2? I'm thinking A2."

"What? Where did you get those?" Huey asked, perplexed. "And…how did they both fit in your backpack?!"

"I got them from the cupboard in the classroom, duh," Webby answers. "And don't question my backpack, it can hold a bunch of stuff! It holds my lunch, my books, my night-vision goggles, my grappling hook—"

"…Why do you have a _grappling hook_?!"

"Why wouldn't I?" Webby shrugged. She stared at him. "…Is…Is that not a normal thing for kids to have?"

Huey scratched the back of his head. "Generally…no, it's not."

"Oh. Well, I kinda bring it with me everywhere I go…" Webby laughs sheepishly. She unrolled the A2 sized paper and laid it down on the coffee table in front of them. "A-Anyways, we should get started."

Huey merely stared at her. Wow. He knew even less about her than he thought. What kind of crazy life does she live where she has to carry around a grappling hook and night vision goggles?! Maybe this is why Huey's so intrigued by her. Because she's NOT normal. It's definitely not a bad thing, of course.

Huey shook the thoughts out of his head and flipped through his notebook, looking at all the notes they took. "Alright, well, where should we start? We could start by making a section about Mars' moons, we could do something about how scientists are currently finding ways to support life on Mars, or we could do a section about…"

Huey stared at the notebook exasperatedly, seeing some information that he did not write. "…Martians. _Webby._ "

"What? It's important information!" Webby shrugged, innocently. Huey rolled his eyes.

"It's not factual information."

"Yes, it is!" Webby moved over and looked over Huey's shoulder. She pointed at the book. "I wrote all the facts about Martians right there, see?"

"Alright, fine, we'll compromise. We'll say that there have been _rumors_ of there being life on Mars. Does that sound alright to you?" Huey asked, flipping through the book. Webby thought about it for a few seconds, then smiled.

"Alright! We should probably put all the information in now so that we can decorate it later."

"Yeah, you're right," Huey agreed, nodding. " _Real_ information, I might add. Not fake ones."

Webby crossed her arms. "Are you talking about my Martian thing? I'm telling you they ARE real! Do you really think we're the only living beings in the universe?"

"No," Huey says. "I believe we're the only living beings in our Solar System. We haven't gone that far into the universe to know for sure."

"Well, there's tons of evidence of life being on Mars! Like, the UFOs we see in those videos or the strange, extraterrestrial objects we see crash down onto Earth! Or the fact that people have SEEN aliens before!"

"Webby, I'm 100% sure that all of those were either fake or you saw them happen in movies."

Webby huffed in frustration. "Maybe. But Scrooge McDuck has seen them! He said so once! He said he saw a Martian crash down onto earth!"

Huey rolled his eyes and opened the notebook he had earlier, flipping through the pages. "I don't buy it."

"What?!"

"I don't buy what McDuck says. I mean, yeah, he's a great business guy and he's also very adventurous. I've heard lots of stories about him. But sometimes those stories seem really…I don't know…fake," Huey said honestly, reading the information in the notebook.

Webby was appalled. "Excuse me? Mr. McDuck's stories ARE real!"

"I'm not saying that they're all fake, I'm just saying that some of them don't seem…possible. Like the time he told a story about having dinner with the ghosts of his relatives, or the time he said he rode the Loch Ness Monster across a large lake…things like that are what I find difficult to believe."

"Oh yeah? Well, which one of Mr. McDuck's stories DO you believe?" Webby asked, crossing her arms.

"I believe that he climbed Mt. Neverrest. I believe that he did go to Egypt and explore the pyramids. I believe the fact that he did, in fact, find out that Bigfoot was just a shaved bear," Huey answered, listing it all down. "Because those things are actually possible."

"I'm telling you now, Huey, all of Mr. McDuck's stories are 100% real!" Webby said, sounding really confident in her statement.

"Webby, he has no proof for a lot of those stories! Besides, how would we know? We don't know Scrooge McDuck personally."

"No, I-!" Webby exclaimed, before shutting her mouth. Her eyes darted to the right for a split second. "Right, right, we don't know Scrooge…but still!"

"Yeah, well, until I see it for myself, I won't buy it," Huey shrugged, nonchalantly. Webby was silent for a few seconds, seemingly thinking hard about something. She then snapped her fingers, an idea forming in her head.

"I got it!"

Huey turned to look at her, confused. "Got what?"

"There's a small crater in the park near Funso's that I'm 99% sure is from an alien spaceship..! Or a meteor..!" Webby told him, excitedly. She jumped up from the couch and stood up. "We should go check it out. And once we get there, you'll believe that aliens are real for sure!"

Huey stumbled as Webby grabbed his hand and pulled him up from the couch. "W-Wait but, what about the poster?!"

"We can do that later. Come oooon, Huey! Let's go on an adventure!" she said, sounding very eager for this "adventure". Webby looked at him with excited and pleading eyes, trying to convince him.

Huey sighed. She seemed very determined to prove to him that aliens are real. Usually, he wouldn't have the time for this sort of thing, especially since there's a task that needs to be done. Huey was not one to procrastinate…

But…

"Alright, fine. Let's go check out this crater."

Webby cheered, pumping her fists. "YES! ADVENTURE, ADVENTURE, ADVEN-"

"But I'm only doing it to prove to you that aliens aren't real!" Huey added, amused at the disappointed look on her face.

Webby shook her head, her smile reappearing. "Then get ready to eat your words, Hubert!"

Huey rolled his eyes and then called out to Della. "Mom?"

"Yeah?" Della's voice came from another room.

"Can Webby and I go to the park?"

"Alright, just be careful..!"

Webby grinned and looked at Huey. "Wow, your mom's so cool..! My granny wouldn't agree to that so easily. Let's go!"

Webby started making her way to the front door, signaling for Huey to follow her. Huey frowned. "Your grandma?"

"Mhm!" Webby replied, skipping out the front door. Huey followed her, curious.

"You don't live with your parents..?"

Huey watched Webby's expression falter from its usual happy look for a few seconds. It was a while before she shook her head and smiled again. "Nah. My parents aren't…here. Come on, the park's this way!"

"Oh…" Huey said, kind of feeling guilty for bringing it up. He doesn't exactly know what she means by "aren't here" but he can make a few guesses. "Sorry for asking-"

"No, it's okay!" Webby waved it off. They started walking down the path, down the neighborhood. Webby put her hands behind her back as she looked at Huey. "…What about your dad? Where's he..?"

"Oh, um, he's just working in a different city," Huey explained. He wasn't really expecting her to ask. "St. Canard to be specific. Sometimes, my mom and I would fly over to visit him- you know, with her having experience as a pilot and everything."

"That's cool!" Webby replied, grinning. "I just kinda live with my granny and…um…yeah, that's it."

Huey doesn't know why, but he couldn't help but feel like she wasn't telling him the complete truth. Still, it was none of his business, anyway. Huey wasn't nosy.

"Oh, look. The park is just around there, see?" Webby pointed in front of them, subtly changing the subject. Huey saw a moderately big park just around the corner. Oh. There it is. It was closer to his house than he thought. He just never really went outside often enough to know it was there.

As they got closer, Huey examined the park. There was a playground. Lots of small children were playing happily on the playground equipment as their parents watched and chatted. Somewhere nearby, a man was walking his pet. And also in the park was a large field, full of bright and healthy grass.

Not bad for a park. He hasn't really been to that many to begin with, but from what he can conclude, it has everything that a park should.

"So, where is this supposed crater?" Huey asked as they walked in. Webby then suddenly grabbed his wrist and led him over to the large field.

"It's on the other side of here!" she said as she dragged him along. Huey stumbled, trying not to trip and fall as she speed-walked over.

"Slow down..!"

It was a while before they got to the other side of the field. Huey was now staring down at what indeed looked like a moderately large crater in the ground. There was a noticeable dent in the dirt inside of the crater. A dent which seemed to take the form of an alien's face.

"Soooo?" Webby asked as she watched him stare down at the crater. "You believe in aliens now, Huey?"

"U-Um…"

Huey wasn't really sure what to say about that. Sure, the crater could've been caused by anything, but the mark of the alien's face..?

"Mm…" Huey hummed in thought. He and Webby jumped down into the crater, walking towards the dent. Huey then knelt down and touched it, as if he were a detective examining the crime scene. "I…still don't believe it."

"What?! Huey, do you not see what I'm seeing?" Webby asked, appalled. "An alien's clearly been here..!"

"Or – consider this…!" Huey said, putting his hand on his chin. "That dent could've been made by someone with an alien mask on..!"

"Why on earth would they-?"

"It could've been a prank! If someone saw a crater here, maybe they thought it would be funny if they shoved the mask in the dirt to leave a mark to make everyone THINK a real alien was here..!" Huey explained, searching for some kind of logical explanation. He'll admit, the likelihood of that happening is…low, but it's not impossible. It makes more sense than Webby's theory anyway!

"Mhm, you seriously believe that?" Webby said, crossing her arms. This boy was being awfully stubborn.

"Or there was a sci-fi convention in this park, where everyone had to dress up as aliens. And maybe someone wearing a mask slipped and face planted into the crater, thus creating the dent..!"

"Huey – "

"OR maybe the thing that made this crater just had a deformed part on it that looked like an alien's face that imprinted the pattern into the ground..! But whatever it is, it's not a real alien..!" Huey said, somewhat erratic. There was a logical explanation in this. He just needs to find it-! "Or maybe-!"

"Huey!" Webby said, smacking his arm to snap him out of it. "Calm down!"

Huey snapped back to reality as soon as he felt Webby smack him. He blinked for a few seconds before looking back at her.

"...Ow."

"Sorry. But it's okay if you can't figure it out, you know?" Webby said, chuckling. "Sure, I love solving mysteries, but the fact that it's a mystery is kinda fun, don't you think? We don't KNOW where it came from! No need to lose your head over it."

"Mm. I guess…" Huey reluctantly agreed. Webby put her hand on his shoulder and looked down at the mark in the dirt.

"Besides, don't you think that it's more fun to keep theorizing fun conspiracies rather than being stuck with a boring reality?"

"Boring reality?" Huey repeated. "Well…whether it's boring or not, we have to face reality every day don't we?"

"Yeah…" Webby nodded, looking down. "But I like believing there's more to everything than we know. It helps keep me excited by the mystery!"

Huey was silent. Webby always did live with her head in the clouds. He always liked to keep himself grounded. He wanted to make sure he's aware of the real world so that reality can't knock him off balance. Webby wasn't scared of that, though. She seemed to be living in her own world most of the time.

It was something he could never really understand.

Although, he always appreciates a new perspective on things…

"So…you don't have to worry about not knowing the answer!" Webby continued. She took out a Polaroid camera from seemingly out of nowhere and snapped a picture of the face mark in the dent.

Huey watched as the camera printed the picture out. Webby got it, shook it and then looked down at it.

"And hey! Maybe we could try figuring this mystery out together!" she suggested, excitedly giving him the photo. "That sounds fun, yeah?"

Huey took it and looked down at it. Webby wanted them to solve the mystery together? She treated it as if it were a game and the way she proposed it, it actually sounded kind of…fun. Sure, he and Webby had a lot of differences when it came to theorizing. Huey always tried to find the most realistic outcome and Webby always tried to find the most interesting outcome.

However, maybe that would actually be helpful. Huey was genuinely curious about whatever this was and he always DID want to be better friends with her. So…perhaps this will be fun. Maybe this is what he's been missing…

Huey let a grin appear on his face.

"Let's do it."

* * *

 **That's the end of Huey's introduction chapter! I'm planning on making a chapter for Huey, Dewey, and Louie each before getting to the real one-shots, just to show what kind of people they are in this AU!**

 **If you wanted to know more about the AU, then I would suggest looking for my posts about it on Tumblr, because I really go into detail about it there. However, if you don't want to, that's alright. I'm hoping to cover everything about this AU in these one-shots, so I hope you enjoy!**

 **Until next time, guys. Bye!**


	2. Dewey

**Chapter Summary:**

 **A little look** **at Dewey McDuck's life. Dewey was always a sucker for adventure, just like his uncle, Scrooge. However, Dewey's desperation for adventure lands him in trouble.**

* * *

Dewford McDuck, who would rather be called Dewey, was an outgoing young boy. Ask anyone. They'd say so.

If you were to ask someone at Dewey's school who "Dewey McDuck" was, they would probably answer with...the kid at school who usually has the lead roles in school plays or…that kid who's friends with almost everyone...or even…the kid who's destined to be the greatest adventurer ever!

Aha, it would be great if they said that.

However, while all of those statements were probably true of him, if you were to ask people who Dewey was, they would answer with "he's the nephew of Scrooge McDuck, the richest duck in the world!"

Yeah, people tend to focus on the Scrooge part more. It was okay with him though! The fact that Dewey was the nephew of THE Scrooge McDuck was pretty cool, after all! Even to him! You know why? Because the greatest thing about his great-uncle was that he was an awesome adventurer! He always traveled all around the world, fighting monsters, finding cursed items, and confronting the supernatural!

…

At least, that's what he's heard about his uncle. He…still has yet to actually see that.

But, whatever! One day, Scrooge is going to let Dewey come along with him on an adventure. Dewey couldn't wait for that day.

For now, Dewey was currently sitting in the dining room of his uncle's mansion, helping himself to a plate of delicious pancakes. The only other person at the table was his friend, Webby.

Webby's grandmother, Mrs. Beakley, works under Scrooge as his housekeeper, which is why Webby lives with him at the mansion. Actually, she was here longer than he was. He doesn't know how long she's been living here, but he's only been living here ever since he was eight. What he DOES know is that the two have been good friends ever since he moved in.

Right now, both ducks were eating breakfast, ready for another day at school. Neither Scrooge nor Beakley ever ate breakfast with them, but that was alright.

"Hey, Dewey, did you hear?" Webby asked as Dewey hungrily munched down on a pancake.

Dewey looked up curiously, his mouth full. "Hm?"

"About the school musical this year! They just announced what it was gonna be," Webby explained, excitedly. While she wasn't into Theatre that much, she knew Dewey definitely was.

"Oh yeah!" Dewey swallowed his food and eagerly nodded. "I heard! This year's musical is going to be Ballad of the Mallard! As soon as auditions are open, I'm trying out for the lead."

"What a surprise," Webby sarcastically chuckled. Dewey grinned and poked her arm with the handle of his fork.

"What about you?" he asked. "You trying out?"

"It sounds fun!" Webby replied, excitedly. Then, she shook her head, to Dewey's surprise. "Eh, but, I dunno, I'm not much of a singer."

"Lies," Dewey chuckled, stuffing his face in more pancakes.

This was how their mornings usually went. Dewey and Webby would eat breakfast together, without Beakley or Scrooge. Beakley was understandable. She was usually the one preparing breakfast for them and she was probably also getting their things ready for school. Scrooge, however..? Dewey has no idea. His uncle has always been kind of distant, but he's probably busy too…right?

Whatever, it's fine. At least Webby's there so he doesn't have to eat alone. Even their small talk in the morning is good enough for him.

As he was about to say more, Mrs. Beakley walked into the room, holding their backpacks.

"You two better head off before you're late," she said, giving the two their respective bags.

"You're right," Dewey agreed, eating one last pancake before jumping out of his chair, full of energy. "Let's go!"

He swung the bag over his shoulder and headed for the main foyer, with Webby following closely behind. Both of them were always so eager to start the day.

The two young ducks had just reached the front door when Webby turned around and called out to her grandma.

"Bye, Granny! Love you!"

Beakley, who had followed closely behind them, walked over to her and kissed her forehead. "I love you too. Have fun at school, dear."

Dewey looked at the two, a feeling of envy flashing through him for no more than a split second. Beakley always bid Webby goodbye every day when they left for school. It was a simple gesture but it was really nice that she bothered to do it at all.

"Hey, Scrooge?" Dewey called out, his voice echoing in the foyer. "I'm off to school!"

Beakley and Webby watched as Dewey tried to listen for a response. Nothing. Scrooge was either out or he couldn't hear him at all. Either way, he wasn't here to see Dewey off.

"Yeah, 'kay, love you too," Dewey replied to the silence, rolling his eyes. He turned around and headed out the door, feeling somewhat dejected.

Dewey had to remind himself that it wasn't that big of a deal…

Scrooge is probably busy every morning. He can't be expected to bid Dewey goodbye every morning when he's probably a very busy man. Still, if he just did it ONCE, it would be appreciated, but whatever. What does he know? Scrooge is a very successful businessman and adventurer- of course, he's busy..!

Still…

"Dewey, wait up!"

Dewey hadn't even noticed, but he had already started to go down the steps in front of McDuck Manor, leaving Webby behind in the process. He turned around and saw her running to catch up with him.

"Sorry!" he apologized, feeling bad for almost ditching her. "I was kinda just thinking about stuff-"

"Your uncle, right?" Webby asked once she had caught up with him. Dewey nodded, averting his eyes.

"Yeah. I was just…" he said, trying to find the right words. "I dunno, I guess I just wished he would do simple things like saying goodbye when we go to school or…ask me how my day was or…I don't know, even just eating with us during breakfast would be nice..!"

Webby frowned. She probably noticed how distant Scrooge was nowadays. How could she not have? Especially when she's been living with them this entire time…

"Well, there's probably a reason..!" she tried to assure him. Dewey shrugged as they finally stepped onto the sidewalk. The stairway from Scrooge's mansion to the streets was unbelievably long, Dewey always thought. Honestly, other kids don't have to deal with living in a mansion.

"Yeah, I know. He's probably really busy with his business stuff or something," Dewey said, with a bland tone. All of that business junk sounded so boring, but it's all Scrooge talked about.

"Mhm!" Webby nodded. "Or maybe he's out on an adventure right now!"

That got Dewey's attention.

"You think so?" he asked, interested. Webby shrugged and nodded at the same time. Dewey's dejected feeling was suddenly replaced by curiosity.

They started walking along the streets of Duckburg, passing by other students who took the same route as they did. Dewey paid them no attention.

"I mean, it's a possibility!" Webby said, grinning. "He's Scrooge McDuck! He probably goes on adventures all the time while we're at school!"

"That would explain a lot," Dewey replied, now grinning too. It made more sense now! He was probably out on some awesome adventure right at this moment, right? "What kind of adventure do you think it is?"

"Mm, I think he's probably fighting a bunch of undead zombies who are trying to eat his brain~!" Webby suggested, making zombie gestures.

"I'm gonna take it a step further and say that the zombies are trying to eat all of his guts and turn him into a 5-star course meal! But then Scrooge fights them off using karate or something cool like that!" Dewey excitedly added, making chopping movements.

Sometimes Dewey forgot about how cool his uncle really was.

He sighed, longingly. "Man, all I wanna do is go on one of those adventures with him."

"Same..!" Webby replied, eagerly. "Maybe you could ask him next time you see him..!"

"Yeah, probably! And who knows? Maybe he'll say yes this time-!"

Dewey was greatly intrigued by the idea. Sure, he's asked Scrooge if he could go with him on adventures before. And sure, Scrooge always said no. But maybe if he just asks one more time, then maybe…Scrooge will consider it.

It was worth a try.

Before he realized it, Dewey and Webby had already reached the gates of the school. Students were walking in, chatting with their friends excitedly. Dewey could see numerous friends already, all talking excitedly. The start of school was always a busy time, but there was something about it that made Dewey eager to start the day.

"Well, see ya later, Dewey!" Webby said, running off to find her friends, whoever they were. This was usually how it went down. As soon as they got to school, Dewey and Webby would split off.

Honestly, he kind of wished it were different, but at the same time, he's doesn't mind.

Dewey gripped the strap of his backpack and started making his way inside the school halls. Everywhere he went, people turned around and greeted him.

"Hey, Dew!"

"Dewey, what's up?"

"Morning, Dewey!"

Dewey grinned and replied each time, enthusiastically. It was always a warm welcome, walking into the school halls as people everywhere greet you. It was one of the things he loved about school. It wasn't that EVERY student liked him or anything, no, no. It was just that he had a lot of friends, that's all.

"Hey, guys!" he would reply to whoever talked to him. It was like this every morning, and honestly, it was one of the things that kept him optimistic about this place.

Dewey looked around as he dodged some rowdy students who were running in the corridor. The young duck subconsciously observed the other students in the hallway. Lots of kids were at their lockers, talking to their friends. Some kids were by themselves, looking perfectly content. Most of them were actually smiling at him as he walked by, then there were the few that gave him subtle scowls for no reason.

These were just some of the things he always noted about his schoolmates. If you were to ask anyone, they would definitely say that Dewey was what you call a "people person". It just means that he likes getting along with everyone, and that was very true. So naturally, he would always mentally take note of how everyone acts, even if he doesn't realize it.

However, he never gave anyone any reason to hate him, so when they DO, he doesn't get it.

The bell hasn't rung yet, but Dewey always liked getting to class early if he could. It wasn't a case of wanting to be punctual or anything. He just knew that his close group of friends would already be there, so he might as well join them too. It's better than being late, anyway.

As soon as Dewey opened the door to his classroom, he was immediately greeted by the sound of his friend's voice.

"EYY, HERE HE IS," Dewey's friend, hollered. A chorus of greetings followed afterward, startling him slightly.

Dewey looked up and saw his group of friends, sitting at the desks, as they usually were at this time of day. He could also see other classmates sitting at their own desks, looking up as soon as his name was announced.

Honestly, he never understood why they had to announce his arrival every morning. It was honestly kind of embarrassing, but, you know, he still appreciated it. Besides, he pretty much got used to it at this point.

"Hey, what's up?" Dewey replied, walking over to sit next to all of his friends.

"Nothing much. But hey, you heard about the-?"

"School musical?" Dewey guessed, grinning. "Guess who's going to the auditions at lunchtime!"

"Called it," one of his other friends said, causing the others to laugh. "Seriously, every time the school has a play, you just _have_ to try out, don't you?"

Dewey shrugged, playfully. "Guilty."

Before long, the bell had rung, signaling the start of class. The rest of his classmates poured into the room, sitting in their respective seats before their teacher, Mr. Beakington, walked in. Dewey sighed. This was his least favorite teacher.

"Good morning, class," Mr. Beakington droned, sounding dead inside.

"Morning, Mr. Beakington," everyone replied, equally as monotonous. Man, classes with this guy were always so…miserable.

"Now, continuing from last class…" he said, in a bland and bleak tone. "We were working on our multiplication. Now, who can tell me what six multiplied by eight is?"

Dewey, who had absolutely no idea, raised his hand as his teacher wrote the question up on the whiteboard. Mr. Beakington turned around and looked at Dewey. He rolled his eyes, subtly.

"Yes, Dewford?"

"30!" Dewey said, sounding confident in his answer. Honestly, he was just guessing, but hey, it was worth a try!

"No."

"…36!"

"No."

"…42!"

"Dewford, stop calling out-"

"…48!"

Mr. Beakington sighed, giving up. "Yes, that's correct."

Dewey pumped his fist, looking playfully smug. His friends were barely able to control their laughter. "Nailed it."

The teacher rolled his eyes. Mr. Beakington never seemed to like Dewey that much, which was weird. All the other teachers loved Dewey's enthusiasm. However, Mr. Beakington just seemed miserable every single day. Honestly, it just made all of his classes so boring, so Dewey would usually try to liven them up with his humor.

Mr. Beakington was never amused, though.

Dewey always wondered WHY he decided to become a teacher if he didn't enjoy his job. He should find a job that he likes. Like how Uncle Scrooge likes adventuring all the time! That's why he became an adventurer. Mr. Beakington should find a better job for himself because really, he's just making himself and everyone around him miserable.

Dewey will never understand that man.

"Moving on," the old teacher said, giving up on the questions. "I'm going to pass out some math worksheets for you all to work on. No talking. Focus on it."

Dewey frowned as Mr. Beakington started handing out the worksheets. As soon as he was given one, he examined it. It looked…utterly boring and uninteresting. Just more multiplication that he didn't understand.

Lame.

"Why can't we do something else?" Dewey spoke up without thinking. Everyone in the classroom turned to look at him. Most of his classmates looked like they agreed with him. Mr. Beakington was not amused. At all.

"Because this is the task I assigned you. Now stop talking and focus, please."

"Ugh, but-!"

"Enough, Dewford."

Dewey frowned more. Everyone was probably super bored and miserable, but of course, Mr. Beakington didn't care at all. Well, that was unfair.

"Come on, at least give us something fun to do!" Dewey argued. Several other students voiced their agreements, encouraging him.

"Do the work."

"But it's so boring..!"

"Young man that is enough! If you won't do the work now, then you can stay here at lunch to do it!" Mr. Beakington yelled sternly. Dewey's anger was almost leveled with his teacher's.

Now, most people would know when to shut their mouth. Most people would know when to back down. They would know when to quit so that they could avoid paying the consequences for it later.

However, Dewey is not one of those people. He is a McDuck. McDucks never, EVER quit.

"Seriously, what's so hard about printing out a FUN worksheet for us to do?!" Dewey argued. He looked over at the other students who seemed to really agree with him. See? They all wanted something else too!

Without thinking, Dewey stood up on his desk, clutching the boring sheet of paper in his fist. He raised it high up into the air. "Aren't you all tired of wasting time doing work that isn't even any fun?!"

"YEAH!" Most of the class cheered.

"Wouldn't it be better to be enthusiastic about work, not bored of it?!"

" _YEAH!_ "

"Dewford, enough!" Mr. Beakington, his voice getting louder. Dewey didn't listen to him. The only thing on his mind was growing this sudden revolution that he just started.

"Don't you want to live your lives?! Not waste it?!"

" ** _YEAH!_** "

The classroom erupted in applause as Dewey looked over the sea of cheering classmates. His mood had gone up ten times as soon the roar of cheers burst out from the other kids. This little revolution that he had just created didn't last too long, however, because as soon as it had come…

"Dewford, that's it! Detention!"

The cheers had come to a sudden halt as Mr. Beakington's words shot down the uplifting mood in the classroom. It took a few seconds for Dewey to realize what happened.

…Oh. OH.

"Seriously?!" Dewey exclaimed. He really shouldn't have been surprised, but he was so caught up in the moment that he had completely overlooked the possibility of there being consequences…

"Yes, _seriously_. In case you have not noticed, you are not above the rules!" his teacher yelled, sternly. He looked beyond frustrated. "If you're not going to do the work now, then you might as well do it at lunchtime in detention!"

Dewey frowned, suddenly regretting speaking up in the first place. It wasn't the fact that he got detention that concerned him. He gets detention more often than not, honestly. No, it was the fact that he got detention today. At _lunchtime_.

"Woah, woah, woah, wait-!" Dewey spoke up, trying to backtrack. He could feel his classmates' eyes on him, but he didn't really care. "But auditions for the school play are at lunchtime..!"

"Well, you should've thought of that before you misbehaved."

"…"

Dewey never was one to think before he acts. Most of the time, he would be fine with the consequences because they'd usually be worth it. He wouldn't really have any regrets. Right now, however?

It was kind of different.

When the bell had run to signal the start of lunch, Dewey sighed as he watched the other classmates stand up from their desks and pack up, eager to go out to play. It seemed like the last few classes had gone by so quickly. He had spent most of the day dreading lunchtime.

Man…maybe that stunt he pulled wasn't worth it. Now he's not going to be able to try out for the musical. He won't be the lead. He won't even be IN the play at all..! He's going to have to sit in the audience and watch _other_ kids perform. Other kids who _didn't_ start a revolution in class and get detention, unlike him.

Ugh…lucky ducks...

Dewey had a frown on his face as he watched each of his classmates walk out of the room as he was left at his desk for detention. His friends passed by him, bidding their goodbyes as they exited the classroom.

"Bye, guys," Dewey said with a glum tone. One of his friends who was passing by bent down and whispered into Dewey's ear.

" _We're gonna get you out, just wait for the signal_."

Dewey's eyes widened a little bit as his friend gave him a mischievous smirk and left the room, closing the door behind him. The only ones left in the room were Dewey and Mr. Beakington. The only sound in the room was the clock on the wall ticking, emphasizing how isolated Dewey was from everyone else at the moment.

However, Dewey's mind wasn't focused on that. He was still trying to figure out what his friend meant earlier.

Signal? What signal? Were they planning something?

If they were, he had no idea what to expect. Dewey looked at his teacher, who was currently sat at his desk, typing away at a laptop. It looked like he wasn't suspicious of anything either. Dewey then glanced at the clock on the wall, a little restless.

If they had a plan, could they start it a little earlier? Auditions are probably happening right at this minute…

Each time the clock ticked, he would turn a little tenser. Not only was he dying to escape, but he was also in suspense. He has no idea WHEN they're going to commence this plan of theirs. It was like waiting for the jump scare moments in a horror movie. Kind of.

Thirty more seconds ticked by. Dewey was starting to wonder if they actually had a plan at all, until-

"Mr. Beakington, come outside, quick!"

Dewey jumped in his seat, startled. He and his teacher looked to the side and saw another one of Dewey's friends at the door of the classroom. She had a panicked expression on her face. However, most of the time, Dewey could tell when someone was acting.

That was definitely a fake expression.

"What? What's going on?" Mr. Beakington asked, alarmed. He stood up from his desk and walked towards her, his attention now completely off Dewey.

"Dinny and Kayla are having a paint war in the art room..!" Dewey's friend said, with a panicky tone. Dewey must say, it was quite convincing. "They got paint everywhere..! They started fighting and then they just started throwing paint everywhere..! Can you please stop them?!"

"Not this again…" Mr. Beakington grumbled as he made his way out of the classroom and rushed over to the art room.

Dewey stood up and ran over to his friend. "Woah..! Did that really happen?"

"Kinda. They just did it to buy you some time," she chuckled. Her expression then turned serious. "Time which you're wasting! What are you waiting for? Go before he sees you..!"

"O-Oh, uh, right..!"

Dewey quickly stammered that before he took off running in the opposite direction that Mr. Beakington had gone. His feet moved as fast as they could as he ran through the hallway, glancing behind him every so often, checking to make sure that his teacher had not realized he was gone.

The coast was clear.

His mood had once again skyrocketed as his adrenaline went up. Dewey laughed to himself as he made it outside the hallways, the fresh air of the outdoors breezing over him. Finally..! He's never really tried escaping detention before, so this was honestly kind of liberating! Sneaking out, escaping detention, running for your life- it was like an adventure!

He'll have to make it up to his friends later, though. It was a possibility that they were going to get in trouble too, but hopefully, it'll be worth it…!

Dewey dashed through the school grounds, determined to make it to the school theatre on time. If he ran fast enough, he still had a chance of making it..! The theatre was only a few meters away..! Just a little more..!

And within seconds, he reached it.

Bursting through the doors, Dewey rushed in, almost out of breath. He looked around the theatre and saw a kid performing a song on the stage. His drama teacher was sitting in the audience, assessing that student's performance. A few other kids were sitting in the audience as well, watching.

They were still doing auditions.

Dewey quickly and quietly made his way to where the other students were seated and sat down in one of the chairs, panting. His run from detention to the theatre really tired him. Man, he really needs to build up his stamina if he wants to go on adventures with Scrooge, huh?

Oh well. It's fine as long as he has enough stamina to sing.

"Dewey..?"

Dewey heard a whisper to his right. He looked to the side and saw Webby sitting a few seats away from him, looking at him, surprised.

"Webby?" he whispered back, also surprised. Didn't she say that she wasn't going to try out earlier this morning? "What are you doing here? Are you auditioning too?"

Webby stood up and made her way towards him, taking a seat right next to him. "No. I came to watch you perform, duh..!"

"Wait, really..?" Dewey responded, kind of flattered. She really didn't have to. Webby smiled and nodded, confirming it.

"Yup! I figured I'd watch and cheer for you in the audience!" she said, gleefully. Her smile then turned into a stern frown as she looked at him. "But you were really late and I was about to leave. What took you so long?"

"Detention," Dewey sighed. He then put on a confident smirk. "But I managed to sneak out! Proud of me?"

Webby gasped, shocked. "You can do that?! I didn't know you could sneak out of detention..!"

"Well…it's not allowed, but who cares, right?" Dewey shrugged with a sheepish smile. He looked towards the stage once again. The student had just finished their performance. Dewey, along with the rest of the audience, clapped in applause.

The student bowed deeply and then made their way off the stage. Dewey took a glance at his drama teacher, who was sitting a few seats away from him, writing down something down on a clipboard. She was probably taking notes on each of them as they perform. Still, that wasn't enough to get Dewey nervous.

If there was one thing he was good at, it was performing. It was honestly his favorite thing to do. Well, that might change after he starts going on adventures with his uncle, but the difference between adventuring and performing is that he actually GETS to perform.

He wouldn't give it up for anything. That's why he was so willing to sneak out of detention. What can he say? Performing just helped him feel more…confident.

"…Do you think your uncle will be happy if he hears that you snuck out?" Webby whispered to him. Dewey, who wasn't really focused about that, shrugged.

"Guess we'll find out later, right?"

Webby frowned but did not push further. If Dewey didn't think it was a big deal, then it probably wasn't a big deal. Besides, she doesn't want to make him worry right before he's about to audition. That would just be mean.

"Alright, who's next..?" the teacher spoke up, looking around. Some of the other students sunk in their seats, perhaps too shy. Others did not move, maybe because they already did their performance.

Dewey seized his opportunity and stood up, confidently. Everyone's eyes were on him, some not seeming to realize he was there in the first place. For some people, if everyone's attention was on them, they might grow shy, embarrassed or nervous. Not Dewey.

Dewey doesn't get nervous. As long as he keeps telling himself that, he'll be fine. It's worked well so far.

He turned to Webby, grinning. "Wish me luck!"

He made his way towards the stage, well aware of everyone's eyes on him. Time for him to do what he does best. Dewey clambered up the stage and looked at the small audience. He met Webby's eyes. She gave him an encouraging smile, giving him two thumbs up. The teacher and the other students watched him, waiting for him to start. This was it.

Cue the music…

"Granny, we're home!" Webby announced as she and Dewey burst their way through the front doors of McDuck Manor.

School had just ended. Dewey and Webby had just arrived back home, both in a good mood. Dewey was certainly in one, at least. He felt as though his performance went flawlessly. There was no way he wasn't getting a role! Webby thinks so, at least, haha.

He would call this day a win, really. He didn't really have to face Mr. Beakington's wrath after lunch had ended, due to him having a different teacher for the last two periods. So, even though he got in trouble at first, Dewey still managed to make it to the auditions, totally nail it, and evade his teacher's wrath.

Does he have the best luck or what?

As Dewey smirked to himself thinking about his victory, Webby skipped ahead of him, looking around for her grandmother. "Graaanny?"

On cue, Mrs. Beakley walked into the foyer, as she does every time they come home from school. Webby ran over to her and gave Beakley a big hug.

"Welcome back, you two," the housekeeper said, hugging her granddaughter back. She then pulled away and looked at Dewey, her expression turning slightly stern.

"Your uncle wants to see you, Dewey," Beakley said, looking at him.

"Huh?"

Dewey was slightly surprised. If Scrooge just wanted to talk Dewey, he could've just…you know…come out and talk to him without having to send someone else to tell him…like a normal person. The way Beakley said it was so formal sounding, too. As if it were a meeting or something.

Oh well. It's Scrooge McDuck, what can you say? He probably just wants to hear about Dewey's day at school for once.

"Oh, uh- okay," Dewey replied, snapping back to reality. He removed his backpack and looked around. "…Sooo…where is he?"

"He's just over in the dining room," Beakley answered, taking Webby's backpack. She went over and took Dewey's backpack too, preparing to put them both away in their respective rooms. "I suggest you head there now."

"Got it," the young boy replied, playfully saluting.

Dewey started to make his way to the dining room, silently wondering what his uncle wanted. Maybe he really DID just want to hear about Scrooge's day. Oh..! Maybe Dewey can tell him about auditions..! Scrooge will probably be super proud.

As he walked in the direction of the dining room, Webby made to follow him, curious about what Scrooge wanted. However, she was stopped by Beakley's hand on her shoulder.

"Huh?" Webby said in confusion, looking up at Beakley. "What-?"

"Perhaps we should let them talk alone, Webby," Beakley said. She grabbed Webby's hand and started to walk in a different direction, away from the dining room door, leading Webby away.

"Okay…"

Now alone, Dewey sighed and opened the doors to the dining room. As they opened, he could see the one and only Scrooge McDuck, sitting in a chair at the end of the long dining table. He was looking down at some papers, reading. He didn't seem to notice Dewey's arrival yet.

Dewey waited a few seconds before walking over to his distracted uncle. As soon as he was right next to him, Dewey cleared his throat, gaining Scrooge's attention.

" _Ahem_."

Scrooge's head tilted up to look at Dewey. He had just realized he was there apparently. Scrooge then straightened his posture and put the papers down on the table.

"Ah, there you are, Dewey."

"Yeaaaah…" Dewey replied, confused. He took a seat next to Scrooge, a questioning look plastered on his face. "Uh…so…you wanted to talk?"

"Yes. Tell me- how was your day?" the old duck asked, his tone seemingly lighthearted. Strangely enough. Huh…

Dewey was slightly surprised at the casual question. "Huh? O-Oh, uh, right. Um…actually, I auditioned for a role in the school musical that's happening this year..!"

"Did you, now?"

"Yeah! Webby was there too. Well, she wasn't performing, just watching, but still! I think I did pretty good, really," Dewey rambled, glad that this is all Scrooge wanted to hear. "Lots of the kids were really good, but you know, I'm pretty confident that I'm gonna get a role. I'm hoping for the lead, but if I don't get it, that's fine I guess-!"

"Well, that sounds fun, lad. Glad you snuck out of detention to do it."

…

Dewey's eyes widened at Scrooge's sarcastic statement. Wait, wait, wait, wait-

"W-Wait, how did you-?!" Dewey stuttered, dumbfounded. How did he find out?! Dewey had no intention of telling him about it, that's for sure. "U-Uh…you know about that..?"

"Earlier today, I got a call from the school telling me that you snuck out of detention during lunchtime," Scrooge said, his tone still sarcastically lighthearted. He then frowned. "You really didn't think that they would give me a call, lad?"

"I, uh…didn't really think about that…" Dewey awkwardly replied, scratching his head sheepishly. He looked down and crossed his arms. "I mean…I had to escape..! I wouldn't have been able to audition if I hadn't..!"

Scrooge sighed and rubbed his temples, frustrated. "Curse me kilts..."

"And you know how important these school plays are to me..!" Dewey defended. He then paused and looked at his uncle with a slight frown. "…You know that, right?"

"…"

Scrooge took a while to answer. He sighed. "…Look, sonny, just because you're passionate about performing, it doesn't mean you can break the rules just to do it..!"

"Why not?! Isn't that something you would do?!"

"What in the blazes gave you that idea?!" Scrooge responded, flabbergasted. Dewey rolled his eyes.

"Oh, come on..! It's like the adventures you go on! It's like how you get captured and held hostage by one of your enemies, right?" he said, drawing connections between his situation and Scrooge's. "And every time you're trapped, you always break out and escape, right?"

Scrooge groaned, frustrated. "For the love of- being captured and held hostage is _not_ the same as being in detention!"

"Well, I don't see a difference!"

" _Please_ tell me there's a good reason why you were put in detention in the first place," Scrooge said, sounding tired and done. Dewey looked away, frowning.

"…I started a revolution in class."

"Why?!"

"Because the work was boring..!"

Scrooge brought a palm to his head, sighing deeply once again. Dewey didn't like how upset he looked. He thought that he would at least be proud or something…

"What in heaven's name would lead you to believe that would be a good idea?" the trillionaire asked.

"Because, you know, why not? I thought it would be more fun than wasting time on a worksheet! All of my friends were bored too, I was just trying to liven the class up..!" Dewey defended. "And…I also thought it's something you would've done too…"

"…"

"You've told Webby and I stories about how you've started revolutions before on adventures. It sounded cool, so…I was just trying to do the same in class!"

Scrooge didn't look amused. In fact, he looked completely done. "There is a time and place for having adventures and starting revolutions, lad. Your math class is _not_ the right place."

"Well, sorry!" Dewey said, sarcastically. He threw his arms in the air, frowning. "Excuse me for wanting to add a little more excitement into my life..!"

"There's nothing wrong with wanting your life to be exciting, lad. However, you're just being reckless at your school," The old duck said, sternly. "Being adventurous is not the same as being reckless."

Dewey huffed and crossed his arms again, looking down at the table. He thought that his uncle might've understood his motives or thoughts. But no. Instead, Dewey was getting scolded. Once again.

"Well…" Dewey spoke up, quietly. "…Maybe I wouldn't need to act like this during school if I actually got to go on adventures with you."

There was a moment of silence after that. Scrooge looked at Dewey, confused. Dewey didn't meet his eyes, but he was silently waiting for his uncle's response.

"…How does that have _any_ correlation with your behavior at school?!"

"Because..!" Dewey cried. He struggled to find the right words to explain it. "I-I don't know how to explain it, but…"

Scrooge groaned and stood up from his seat, making Dewey pause. The old duck's expression was tired and frustrated. Dewey looked up at his uncle, confused.

"Uncle Scrooge-?"

"Listen. I know you want to accompany me on adventures. I know that you want more excitement in your life. However, I am not letting you come with me due to the fact that you're _much_ too reckless!"

"…"

"If you really want to go on an adventure with me, then you have to prove that you're responsible and clever enough," Scrooge continued. Dewey frowned and looked away. "You have to understand, lad, the adventures I go on are dangerous. They require skill, but they also require cleverness if you're in danger."

"I'm clever…"

"If you want to venture out into the world with me, you need to learn how to work smarter, not harder."

There it was. One of Scrooge's catchphrases that he uses on Dewey way too often. Dewey didn't like how his uncle underestimated him. Dewey can be clever..! It's like Scrooge doesn't trust him. It's like Scrooge doesn't think he's worthy or something.

It sucked.

"Bottom line is, prove to me that you should join me. Otherwise, it's a no from me, Dewey."

That was the last thing Scrooge said before turning around and leaving the dining room, leaving Dewey alone with that statement. Once he was gone, the room was silent. Dewey was thinking about what his uncle said.

The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he got.

"Ughhh..!" Dewey groaned, slamming his head on the table. He regretted that immediately- his forehead really hurts now. However, he was too frustrated to care.

He doesn't know why his uncle doesn't trust him, but he hates it so much. Is it so much to ask that Dewey just joins Scrooge on ONE adventure?!

"Dewey..?"

Dewey lifted his head up from the table and looked at the dining room entrance. There, peeking in from behind one of the doors, was Webby. She looked concerned.

"Webby?"

"Hey. Can…I come in?" she asked. She looked a little apprehensive, but that's probably because she just saw Dewey in a bad mood. Suddenly, Dewey's frustration lifted a little bit as soon as he saw her. Finally, someone he could actually talk to.

"Yeah, it's fine," Dewey confirmed, sighing. Webby walked into the room and made her way over to him. She stood next to him, frowning in concern.

"…What did Mr. McDuck want to talk to you about?" she asked, putting her hand on his shoulder in a comforting way.

Dewey sighed. "He told me about how he knew I got out of detention. He, uh, wasn't that happy with me…"

"Oh…"

"And then I asked him if I could join him on adventures again."

Webby looked up at him, suddenly. "And what did he say?!"

"No. Again."

Her expression had turned from hopeful to disappointed in a matter of seconds. Dewey knew that feeling all too well. He knew that Webby wanted the same thing he wanted.

"Aw, man…well…maybe he'll say yes next time..!" Webby suggested, hopefully. Dewey groaned and put his head in his hands.

The thing is, Dewey has already asked several times before. He's starting to think the chances of Scrooge actually saying yes is pretty low. He doesn't understand what the problem is! Sure, Scrooge says that Dewey is supposed to prove that he's responsible and clever and stuff, but how does he do that?!

"He says that I'm too reckless and irresponsible to go on adventures…" Dewey confided. He trusted Webby. She was always there when he needed to vent and, well, now was that perfect time. "He says that I should 'work smarter, not harder' but I don't even know what he wants me to do! It's like he doesn't trust me..!"

"Hmm…" Webby hummed in thought, nodding.

"Webby, explain to me- what the heck does he mean?!" Dewey ranted, letting his frustrations out. "How am I supposed to prove to him that I'm responsible enough? How does he know I'm not responsible, anyway?! I'm responsible, right?!"

"Yeah…?" Webby awkwardly replied, shrugging. At least she didn't say no.

"But how does Uncle Scrooge know I'm not responsible? He barely even sees me, and when he does, it's just to scold me-!" Dewey continued venting. Webby patted him on the back in a comforting manner. Dewey then sighed deeply.

All of his frustrations had been let out all at that moment. He felt much better, but he also felt really tired too. He doesn't know what to do. He really, really wants to join his uncle. He wants Scrooge to trust him. But he doesn't know how to do that..!

Webby waited a few seconds for Dewey to collect himself. After a while, she opened her arms out in an inviting manner. She gave a small smile. "…You need a hug?"

Dewey groaned and then gave in. He let a smile appear on his face. "Yes, please."

Webby stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him. Dewey sank into the hug and wrapped his arms around her too, resting his head on her shoulder. Webby usually helped him cheer up by giving him a hug. It actually reminded him of how they first met, but…that's a story for another time.

"You know…maybe one day we can figure out how to get him to say yes," Webby suggested, encouragingly. "And I'm sure you can prove to him that you can work smarter! You're not stupid, Dewey. You just gotta prove that to your uncle somehow!"

Dewey was silent for a bit. He thought about Webby's words for a while, contemplating what she was saying. He smiled, softly, his frustrations slowly melting away. She had a point. Why was he acting like it was over? Scrooge himself said that Dewey could join as long as he proves himself.

That doesn't mean he can't go at all.

"You're right," he replied after a while, pulling away from Webby. "Yeah..! You're right, it's not over..! We can totally get him to say yes one day! It's only a matter of time, right?"

Webby beamed, glad that she was able to cheer him up. She nodded enthusiastically. "Definitely..! But in the meantime…"

Dewey looked at her, quizzically. "Hm?"

"You wanna go explore around Duckburg?" Webby asked, hopefully. She smiled, cheekily. "It'll be like an _adventure_ ~!"

Her enthusiasm was contagious in his opinion. Besides, she was right. If Dewey can't join Scrooge on adventures out into the rest of the world, then at the very least, he can join his friend on adventures right here in their city. It's not quite Scrooge-level adventures, but it was good enough for him. He'll just work until he CAN accompany his great-uncle out in the world. He can do it.

If Dewey was anything, he was determined. He was going to reach his goal one day. Even that day wasn't today. Still, he might as well make the most of what he's got at the moment.

Dewey grinned.

"Lead the way!"

* * *

 **There you go! That's the end of Dewey's chapter! There's not much I really have to say about this one. However, there's more to come when it comes to Dewey and Scrooge's relationship, so stay tuned for that! Also, in case you didn't know, the setting for this AU is mostly going to be the school, because that's the place where Huey, Dewey, Louie, and Webby all would meet..! It's for plot purposes, aha.**

 **Don't worry, that doesn't mean there isn't going to be the same Ducktales-type of adventures we all know and love~**

 **But anyways, bye!**


	3. Louie

**Chapter Summary:**

 **A view of life from Louie Duck's perspective. Louie and his Uncle Donald weren't the richest of people. Their lives weren't exactly glamorous. This causes Louie to be a little more hungry for money and a little more of a schemer, but most importantly, it caused him to be a lot more cynical. He thinks that with a little more money, maybe- just maybe, his life would be way easier.**

* * *

There were several words you could use to describe Llewelyn Duck – or as he much, much prefers to be called, Louie Duck. Please. Call him that.

People who barely knew him might say that he was cunning, sly, lazy, and chill. People who knew him well might say the same thing. Louie would agree with these adjectives, honestly. He was not a complicated guy in his opinion. Although, his life was a little more complicated than he would've liked.

It's not like he had the life of the protagonist of a crazy adventure movie or something, no, it wasn't _that_ kind of complicated. His life was just a little bit difficult.

You see, Louie lives alone with his uncle on a houseboat. No parents, no siblings. Just him and his uncle, Donald. This is fine. It's just that they aren't…the richest family. Actually, Donald didn't really have a job, so they weren't living the most luxurious life.

Still, it could be way worse.

Currently, Louie was sitting with his uncle at the breakfast table. The young duck was enjoying a nice piece of buttered toast, still sleepy and tired. Donald was sitting across from him, drinking a cup of coffee. Louie could hear the seagulls squawking outside as the boat as well as the quiet sounds of the waves of the sea.

These mornings were usually pretty quiet, but he kind of liked it like that.

"Hey, Uncle Donald?" he spoke up, breaking the silence. Donald looked up at him, questioningly.

"Yeah?"

"Can I _not_ go to school today?" Louie asked, munching on his toast.

Donald frowned and tilted his head in confusion. "Is there any special reason you don't want to go today?"

Louie shrugged, lazily. "Nah, I just can't be bothered."

"Louie!" Donald quacked sternly, putting his hands on his hips. He sighed. "I should've known. That's what you've been saying all week!"

"Hey, I thought if I asked enough times, you'd eventually say yes," Louie joked, chuckling. Donald shook his head, sighing deeply.

"Louie, school is important. You need it to get a-"

"-Good job in the future, yeah, yeah," Louie interrupted, tired of this talk. A snarky comeback came into his mind, but he bit back the urge to say it. Instead, he replied normally. "But I don't get how the stuff they teach us can actually _help_ us get good jobs."

"Well, believe me, you'll find it helpful one day," Donald said, crossing his arms. "You're too young to understand, but for now, just _try_ to do your best at school."

Louie sighed, bowing his head. He then looked up at his uncle again. "Yeah, alright."

"Good, good…"

Donald glanced up at the clock on the wall. He stood up from the table. "Well, it's time you should get going."

Louie nodded and chomped down the last of his toast before getting out of his seat. He picked up his backpack, silently dreading the day ahead of him. If he's lucky, the day will be uneventful. Days where nothing happened were his favorite days.

He headed out the front door, stepping onto the deck of the houseboat. The boat bobbed up and down on the water ever so slightly as he walked towards the end of the boat. Louie carefully hopped off the deck, landing on the docks of Duckburg.

Clutching his backpack, he made his way over to the sidewalk, where some other kids at his school were waiting. Every morning, Louie would have to wait for the bus to pick him up to take him to school. In all honesty, the school was close enough for him to walk to…if he woke up super early. But you can understand why he wouldn't want to do that at all.

Who could be bothered?

None of the kids at the bus stop said anything to Louie or each other. They all just stood in silence, some looking down at their phones or others just trying not to make eye contact.

It didn't take long for the school bus to arrive, though. Louie and the other kids each boarded the bus full of other noisy, rowdy kids. As Louie stepped onto the bus, he automatically went to a seat which no one else sat in. He usually sat alone, and he was glad about it. It wasn't that he didn't like talking to people, it was just that he liked having quiet, alone moments.

And with it being so early in the morning, he really couldn't be bothered talking to anyone anyway.

As Louie sat in his usual seat, he sighed, relaxing. Ignoring the loud conversations of the other students, he looked out the window, his mind wandering as the bus started moving once again.

People were yelling, people were laughing, and they were all just plain loud. Louie paid them no mind. It would be a short, quick ride to school, so he might as well enjoy his moment of alone time while he can.

Just as he expected, the ride was short. The bus slowly came to a stop in front of the school before he knew it. All of the students on the bus immediately started getting up from their seats, eager to leave the cramped vehicle. Louie took his time as some kids pushed past each other to get out- he didn't want to get trampled on, after all.

Without a word, Louie exited the bus once everyone else was off. Stepping onto the ground, he was now standing in front of the school. He looked around. Students were pouring into the building, chatting and talking amongst each other. Lots of them looked happy. For some reason.

As Louie looked up at the school, he couldn't help but grimace, thinking about how his day is going to go. Judging by his luck, something's bound to go wrong. He can only hope that nothing happens at all.

He begrudgingly forced himself to walk towards the school, a tired expression on his face. The only thing he liked about this place was his friend. That and a couple of other small reasons. Otherwise, he thought school was a waste of time…

Louie just wants to sleep all day, but noooo…

But whatever. He's learned to just go with the flow, rolling along with whatever happens. If he didn't have that attitude, he probably wouldn't be able to stand school.

Louie entered the halls of the building. The halls were lined with lockers with students standing by them, talking with each other. Louie braced himself, then proceeded to make his way through the corridor, keeping his head bowed. If he could get through this without being pushed or shoved in any way, that would be fantastic.

The young duck kept walking until he couldn't walk any further. Seriously, there was a group of students standing directly in the middle of the hallway. Why the heck-

"Um," Louie spoke up, irked. The students were talking with one another, completely oblivious to this obstacle they've created. "Can you move?"

They didn't seem to hear him as they just kept chatting. Louie frowned, a little annoyed. He briefly considered tapping one on the shoulder, however, he decided against it. Instead, he found the biggest gap in the group- a really, really narrow gap- and pushed through it.

"Hey..!" a girl exclaimed as Louie pushed past. She put her hands on her hips, looking annoyed. "Why don't you watch where you're going?!"

"Why don't _you_ get out of the way?" Louie sarcastically said, not bothering to look back. He continued to walk away, putting his hands in his pockets. He was much too tired to deal with this today.

This was how his mornings usually went. Let's just say that this was one of the many reasons why Louie didn't like school. The worst part is that this is just middle school. He hasn't even reached high school, yet so he KNOWS it's going to be so much worse.

As Louie continued down the hall, thoughts swarmed his mind. He was a lot more negative than he'd like to be, he's realizing. He didn't think that he'd be the type of person to like being alone or the kind of person to stress about so many things. In all honesty, he might not even BE like this if his life were just a little easier…

If he was just a _little_ bit richer…

He wouldn't have to worry about anything.

The sound of the school bell signaled the start of the first period. Louie, who was just at his locker, groaned. He closed his locker and proceeded to make his way to class. So far, his day has been…bad, but with class, it has a 50/50 chance of becoming better or worse.

He prays that it gets better.

As Louie entered his classroom, he saw all of his classmates already sitting in their seats. His teacher, Mr. Fowler, was already standing at the front of the class as well. Louie instantly knew he was the last one to arrive, judging by how everyone's eyes were on him now.

"Sorry," Louie apologized for his lateness. He avoided eye contact with anyone, instead choosing to look down at the floor.

As he made his way over to his seat, Mr. Fowler replied, "No worries, Louie. Take a seat."

Louie sat down, glad that his teacher wasn't the type to get angry about anything. He was actually pretty cool. As cool as teachers could be, anyway.

"So," Mr. Fowler said, keeping his tone somewhat upbeat. "Who can tell me what we were working on last week?"

Louie slumped in his seat as the young teacher started looking around the room for someone to answer. If no one put their hand up, Mr. Fowler was going to choose someone to answer and it BETTER not be Louie.

Luckily, before anything like that could happen, someone raised their hand.

"Yeah?" Mr. Fowler responded, looking at that student. Louie breathed a sigh of relief, glad he wasn't chosen.

"We were learning about currency, right?" the student answered.

"Right!" Mr. Fowler replied. "Specifically, we were learning how to count currency. Now, who can tell me…?"

Louie's attention had slipped away quickly. He no longer focused on the class, as he was already unbelievably bored. Louie stealthily opened his sketchbook on his desk to a blank page, hoping no one would notice.

Getting out a pencil, he brought it to the page and started sketching something. He wasn't entirely sure _what_ he was sketching…just anything that came to his mind.

Louie was the kind of kid who liked drawing and doodling in his books. Normally, he wouldn't be much for art, but he found that it was a good way to entertain himself when he's bored. Especially when he doesn't have his phone with him…

As he drew more over the years, he just got better at it. So, one could say it became somewhat of a passion for him, surprisingly enough. He would never show anyone his sketchbook, though. It's not that there were embarrassing drawings in it or anything…he just didn't feel comfortable showing anyone.

Louie blinked as he looked down at what he was drawing. It seemed to be a bow, similar to the one his friend wore. Hm. Okay, sure. Sometimes, he never knew why he would draw certain things, but hey, he never questions it.

"Louie?"

Louie's attention immediately shot back to reality at the sound of his teacher calling his name. The young duck looked up at his teacher. Mr. Fowler seemed to be looking at him expectantly…

"Oh- what was the question..?" Louie asked, putting his hands over his sketchbook to prevent any students sitting next to him seeing.

"I asked 'How many quarters would be in a million dollars?'" Mr. Fowler clarified. He had a small smile on his face. "So?"

"Uh…" Louie said, calculating the values of the currency in his mind. It didn't take very long for him to come up with an answer. "Like…4,000,000, right?"

"Exactly!" Mr. Fowler responded, pleased. Louie sighed in relief, again. The other students looked at him in awe- probably because of how fast he answered.

Truth was, math had become easy for him. And currency? That was where he shined…mostly because he was used to counting currency all the time, but whatever. Besides, it was just division and multiplication, so it was simple enough.

"Sir, who would ever pay a million dollars in _quarters?_ " Louie joked, snickering. Mr. Fowler grinned, shrugging.

"Who knows? For all we know Scrooge McDuck could be that kind of person," he chuckled, referring to the famous duck they all knew. Some other students laughed at that remark as Mr. Fowler continued the lesson. "Now, as for the task today, you're going to have to get into groups."

Louie groaned.

"Each group is going to have to get together and…" Mr. Fowler said, reaching under his desk for something. He pulled out a stack of boxes from the desk. They looked like board games. "…play Monopoly!"

"Wait, what? We're just gonna play?" a random student asked, perplexed that their teacher had THIS as their lesson.

Mr. Fowler nodded. "It may not be 'work', but I feel like you guys have been pretty stressed lately. So I thought playing a game of Monopoly will help, seeing as it's on topic."

Some kids looked happy and pleased. Actually, they all seemed to be kind of excited, probably because they didn't want to do actual work.

"Now, get into groups and start playing."

Louie's classmates sprung up from their seats, flocking over to their friends, loudly talking. The only one who didn't move was Louie. He wasn't really too pleased about being put into groups. He knew he was going to be the one kid left out, so why try?

It seemed like everyone had already gotten into their groups except for him. Louie chose to start drawing in his sketchbook again, completely ignoring the board games that were being set up around him. He really didn't care about the activity. He was fine just staying in his seat.

"Louie."

Louie looked up at the sound of his name again. Mr. Fowler was looking down at him. Oh geez, he can see where this is going. Louie kept calm, nonetheless. "Yeah?"

"Why don't you join a group?" Mr. Fowler asked him. He's had to deal with Louie trying not to participate many times, so he already knows why. "Go ahead and play some Monopoly with the others."

"Uh…nah, I'm good," Louie declined, hoping that it would somehow work. If he was lucky, Mr. Fowler would let him be.

"Come on, remember what we said about participating? Go and join a group! It won't kill you, you know," his teacher joked.

Louie held in a groan. He was not going to leave until Louie got up and played with the others. The young duck really didn't have a choice in this matter. Besides, he didn't feel like getting lectured anymore.

Hopefully, this lesson will pass by quickly so that he won't have to participate any longer than he has to. This was going to be such a pain. He was fine with talking to people- that wasn't the problem. It was just that he wasn't really good at being put into groups. There was just something he didn't like about it.

But he has no choice right now.

"…Fine."

Class had ended. Louie walked out of the classroom, glad that it was already recess. The thing was…the lesson wasn't THAT bad. He just had to play along with the game and that was it, really. Mr. Fowler caught Louie trying to pocket some fake money, but even so, he just laughed.

He just liked recess and lunch because he could finally eat and meet up with his best friend. She was pretty much the only person who he actually looked forward to talking to.

Louie walked outside of the school building, into the schoolyard, breathing in the fresh air outside. With his snack in one hand and his sketchbook in the other, he made his way through the schoolyard and headed to the football fields where the bleachers were.

However, he soon realized that he had forgotten something. He was supposed to meet someone else- someone who wasn't really his friend. How could he have forgotten..?! This was an important meeting too…but he can't just leave _her_ waiting for him when he has somewhere else to be.

…

Okay, he'll just…spend a little bit of time with her. Then, he can make up an excuse and leave to go meet with that one person. Yeah…

Making up his mind, Louie continued walking towards the bleachers at the football field.

As soon as he arrived, he saw Webby Vanderquack, sitting at the bleachers. His mood was suddenly lifted at the sight of her. He'll admit, when he first met her, he wasn't sure what to think about her. But now, Webby is one of the only reasons he still bothers to go to school.

Even though the two were completely different in every way, she still somehow seems to understand him the best. He appreciates that. Admittedly, just knowing that she's there is like a reliever to him.

He almost forgot about his meeting when he saw her. Almost.

Louie climbed up the steps, making his way up to her. Webby looked down and noticed him. A gleeful smile appeared on her face. "Hey, Louie!"

"Hey, Webby," he greeted, finally on her level. He took a seat next to her with a small smile. "Got anything new?"

"Yep!" Webby replied, grinning. She showed the snack in her hands. It seemed to be a container with four or five chocolate chip cookies. "My granny gave me cookies today!"

"Whaaat? Lucky…" Louie said, jealous. He nudged her with his elbow, pouting. "Oi, I want one. Gimme."

Webby scoffed playfully, holding the container further away from him when he tried to reach for it. "Hey! You didn't say the magic word!"

Louie rolled his eyes. "Please."

"Mm…?" Webby hummed in thought, contemplating whether or not she should give it to him. "Nah."

"Oh, come on, Webbs!" Louie exclaimed, crossing his arms. He showed her what he had for a snack. It was a single juice box with apple juice in it. "Look at this! This is all I have! This is pitiful."

"Hey, that's not that bad..!"

"You want it?" Louie offered, holding it towards her. "It's pretty much the only thing that Uncle Donald gives me, so I'm kinda sick of it."

Webby eagerly nodded, slightly surprised by his offer. "Yeah, thanks-!"

She reached for it, but Louie held it away from her grasp at the last second, poking his tongue out. "You didn't say the magic word. This'll cost you a cookie."

The young girl frowned, putting her hands on her hips. She fixed him with a glare. "Wooow. Okay, Louie."

"Hey, come on, it's only fair. Besides, friends share food with each other. It's like, 'best friend etiquette', Webbs," Louie said in a joking manner. He then feigned a hurt expression. "Unless I'm _not_ your friend..!"

Laughing, Webby rolled her eyes at his behavior. She shook her head. "Of course you are! That doesn't mean I owe you my cookies."

"…"

"…"

" _You don't love me_ ," Louie said in an overdramatic whisper, playfully leering at her.

Webby scoffed, smacking him on the shoulder. "Okay, fine. I'll give you two and a half cookies ONLY if you let me have some of your juice!"

"Deal."

These were the small, silly little conversations they had every day. Sure they were silly, but Louie liked it. Talking to her makes things more fun. Webby was always a good person to talk to when you need your mood up. He would always say that she's crazy, insane and kooky. But she was also a delight to be around.

Webby opened her container and put it in between them, revealing the small stack of chocolate chip cookies. Louie, in turn, poked a straw through his juice box and put it next to them. The two ducks smiled and looked out into the football field, munching on the cookies and drinking from the juice box.

They could see several kids playing in the fields. Louie watched them from a while, enjoying the silent moment. Webby turned her head towards him, looking curious.

"So…anything happen lately?" she asked.

Suddenly, Louie was reminded of the meeting. He remembered that something _did_ happen…and that he had to leave now. The "person" who was waiting for him is probably going to be upset that he had been keeping them waiting for so long.

"Uh…no…" Louie lied. He stood up from his seat, shoving his hands in his pockets. "But I just forgot- I have to go."

"What? Why?" Webby asked, confused as to why he had to leave so suddenly. Louie coughed, trying to think of an excuse.

"Um, well, uh…my teacher wanted to talk to me about…my project," he lied, poorly. Webby stared at him for a few seconds, trying to tell if he was telling the truth.

She then smiled. "Oh, okay, then..!"

Thank goodness she was naïve. He didn't like having to lie to her, but hey, it's not like he has much of a choice.

"Great," he said, grinning. He shot her a finger gun gesture and began to climb down the bleachers, glad that he didn't have to put much effort into the excuse. "You can have the rest of the juice. Later, Webby!"

And off he went. As Louie quickly hurried his way to the school building, he frowned. Look, he only ever saw Webby during breaks and after school. This…thing that he had to do was wasting that time and he wasn't exactly happy about it.

Though, he really couldn't call it a waste of time. It was actually really important.

He finally reached the school building. Walking into the empty hallway, he looked around to see if any teachers were on patrol. They would've kicked him out if they found him, so he'd have to try to avoid that.

Seeing that the coast was clear, Louie quickly raced to his locker.

He stealthily unlocked it, looking around suspiciously. Reaching in the locker, he pulled out a stack of paper that had math equations written all over it. But it wasn't for him, no. It was for someone else.

Shutting his locker, he ran as fast and as quietly as he could through the halls, looking for a certain classroom.

 _'_ _Classroom D017, right..?'_

Louie reached his destination, finally. Wasting no time, he opened the classroom door with the stack of papers in one of his hands. He entered the room and quietly shut the door behind him, catching his breath.

He turned around and saw another student in the classroom, standing next to one of the desks. She seemed to be irked and annoyed, looking impatient. Louie walked over to her.

"About time..!" she complained, crossing her arms. "You know how long I was waiting? Recess is almost over..!"

"Yeah, no, sorry," Louie apologized, expecting this kind of reaction. "I was just with my friend."

"It's fine. But, do you have _it?_ " the girl asked, hopefully. Louie held up the papers, showing them to her.

The thing is…Louie actually started a little business for himself here at school. Louie hates work, everyone knows this. However, with a small fee, students can get him to finish their homework for them. It's pretty much the only reason why Louie would take time to do extra work.

The money Louie earns from this is pretty good. All of his earnings go to the glass money jar that he and Uncle Donald keep in the kitchen. Though…Donald has no idea about this little scheme of his. Donald has no idea where Louie gets his money, but every time he asked, Louie would avoid the question.

The teachers don't know as well, obviously. But someone else who doesn't know is Webby. He knows that he should probably tell her, that there's nothing wrong with her knowing. But something just tells him that she wouldn't like this either.

"Yep, it's right here. I finished all of the questions, but I mean, you should probably double check them," Louie said, holding it out to her.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's fine!" she replied, not seeming to care if there were mistakes in the work. She snatched the papers and rifled through them, thoroughly.

Louie waited patiently for her to finish. After a while, she smiled and reached into the pocket of her skirt. "A deal's a deal."

Out of the pocket, she pulled out the thing that caught Louie's eye. Money. The green notes seemed to stand out to him, catching his attention. The girl offered it to Louie.

"$10 is what you wanted, right? Here."

Without hesitation, Louie accepted the money, smirking. He fiddled with the money in his hands, then nodded his head once. "Pleasure doing business with you."

After saying that, he departed, pocketing the notes. Sure, his "business" wasn't allowed. But there are times when the rules need to be bent a bit to earn something. And it's not like it hurt anyone. He was just making life easier for all of those other students. He was doing a good thing!

Though he isn't a genius, so there might be mistakes in the work he brings back. But Louie would always try to make sure that the work is perfect before giving it to them. He can't risk his customers wanting refunds. But, to be fair, even if they wanted to get a refund, Louie wouldn't give it to them. The least he can do is try to make the homework good, but he won't stand for refunds.

Yes, it might be a liiiittle bit of a scam. But that is only if the work has too many mistakes and Louie tries to be as fair as he can. He needs the money, you know?

Uncle Donald needs it too.

He didn't get back to Webby in time before the bell rung again, signaling the start of the third period. Instead, Louie headed straight to class, hoping that it would roll by quickly. He wasn't all that interested in his class or his classmates, so his mind often wandered at this time.

Luckily for him, there was no need to take part in any discussions or group activities this time. Instead, they just had to complete a worksheet, which he was perfectly fine with. Lunch came before he knew it. As soon as the bell rang, Louie got up from his seat and immediately left the classroom, glad to be out of there.

Now, Louie was making his way to the school cafeteria, walking through the halls of the school. He ignored everyone around him, only focused on reaching the cafeteria. His stomach grumbled hungrily and Webby was probably waiting for him.

Opening the doors of the cafeteria, Louie looked around. This was a chaotic place. There were students walking around all over the place, some seated at the tables, some still getting food from the cafeteria staff. Either way, they were both loud. Louie looked at all the students sitting at the tables. Each friend group claimed their own table, it seemed.

A grumble coming from Louie's stomach brought him back to reality. Louie shook his head, then proceeded to walk to the cafeteria counters, where a line of students was moving along, picking out their lunch.

Louie grabbed his own tray and stood in line, looking over the trays of food available. The food in this school wasn't terrible, he'll admit. It just wasn't a five-star cuisine. Whatever, he's not that picky. Besides, if it's free, it's free.

As Louie put some food on his tray, the line moved forward, meaning the people behind him would push him a little every time. Sure, he was used to this by now but…

It was still annoying.

The person behind him kept on pushing impatiently, making Louie more and more aggravated. Louie tried to keep looking forward, trying not to snap. However, when he got a rather tough shove, he whipped his head around angrily looking at the student behind him.

"Watch it-!"

Louie suddenly shuts his mouth, his anger being replaced by fear. The student behind him was none other than Doofus Drake, arguably one of the richest kids in school. Also, probably one of the most terrifying ones. No student dared talk back at him, Louie included.

There were rumors about him. Like how the last student who talked back at him went missing. That's alarming in of itself.

Doofus Drake had a reputation because of it. Louie will admit, he's scared but also jealous of this kid. Doofus probably gets spoiled by his parents, so he thinks he can get anything he wants.

Louie wants that life but also hates people like that, so…

" _What did you say?_ " Doofus asked, his tone dangerous. The truth was, he didn't look all that scary. In fact, he was just a chubby little boy who wears extremely expensive clothing. He also always seemed like he was spaced out.

However, Louie always felt a sort of "insane" vibe from him. Everyone did. That's why they never crossed him.

"U-Uh, nothing, sorry..!" Louie stuttered, intimidated. He grabbed his tray of food and immediately got out of the line, deciding that the rest of the food at the counter wasn't worth it.

Doofus' expression went back to looking spaced out, taking Louie's place in the line. Louie felt like he had dodged a bullet, even though he showed more than a bit of cowardice right then.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he immediately turned around and looked for his table. He spotted it easily. It was the only table with one person sitting at it, that person being Webby, who seemed to be enjoying her lunch.

Louie hurried over to her, looking over his shoulder again at Doofus as if scared that the kid would come back and kill him or something.

"Hey," Louie greeted, putting his tray down and taking a seat at the table. Webby perked up and smiled.

"Oh, there you are!"

"Webby, I literally almost died," Louie said, dramatically. Webby tilted her head in confusion at his statement.

"What happened?"

"I almost insulted Doofus Drake," he replied, dropping his voice to a frightened whisper. He shuddered, imagining what would've happened if he did. "I'm telling you, I'm starting to believe your crazy theories about him."

"I told you!" Webby exclaimed. "He's definitely a serial killer..!"

"Okay, well, slow down there," Louie said, putting his hand up in a "stop" gesture. "I wouldn't say serial killer, but he's definitely dangerous."

"Shhh, you know I'm right!" Webby said, almost too excited. "I bet that's what happened to that one kid who insulted him..! I bet he was killed by the Doof kid!"

"Webbs, you sound way too excited to hear that a kid probably died."

"What? That's-! No!" she responded, frantically shaking her head. Louie chuckled as Webby tried to correct herself. "That's not what I meant..!"

"Calm down. I know," Louie assures her, smirking. He began eating his food, shrugging as he munched. "But you're theories could be right for all I know. Who knows what that guy does outside of school?"

"Mm…" Webby agreed, nodding. That Doofus Drake was a mystery. She then grinned. "Speaking of which, are you busy after school?

Louie thought carefully. Did he have anything he needed to do after school? There wasn't any homework he needed to finish. No student paid him to do anymore, anyway.

"Nah," Louie replied, shaking his head. "Why? Wanna do something?"

Webby nodded, smiling. "Yeah! I was thinking we could hang out at your house for once?"

Louie stared at Webby as she tried to pull the puppy-dog-eyes expression on him, smiling cutely. He frowned. Webby hadn't actually seen his house yet. She actually didn't know that it was a boat…

"Please?" she pleaded, trying to look as adorable as she could. Louie looked away, trying not to fall for it.

"Nice try, Webbs," he said, looking anywhere but at her. "But you can't act cute and expect me to say yes."

"Yes, I can! It's worked before!" Webby exclaimed, pouting. Her expression turned normal, allowing Louie to make eye contact with her again. Louie rolled his eyes.

"Uh, yeah, no. Last time was just you asking for me for a dollar. It's not the same as asking to see my house."

"Why can't I, though?" Webby asked, curiously.

Louie was silent, trying to think of an excuse. The truth was, he didn't want her to see that he just lived in a boat. He didn't want her to see that he didn't live in an actual house. Louie doesn't know why, but he's kind of…ashamed…embarrassed by it..? He knows that he shouldn't be, but it just wasn't normal.

And he didn't want to have to explain that Uncle Donald didn't have enough to afford a real house.

"I'll only show you my house…if you bring me to yours," he said, flipping it on her. Louie actually hadn't seen Webby's house either. She refused to bring him to hers as well…for some reason. He knew that she wouldn't take that offer.

"W-What? Oh..!" Webby responded, sounding surprised. She looked away. "Uhhh…I can't really do that."

"Why not?"

"B-Because, uh…my granny might not let me bring visitors…" Webby lied. Louie didn't really believe her, considering Webby was a terrible liar. She always stuttered and she was doing the thing where she plays with the cuffs of her sleeves.

It was small little details like that which helped Louie tell if she was lying or not.

He was going to call her out for it…but he decided against it. Instead, he replied, "Fair enough."

Webby not-so-subtly breathed a sigh of relief. Louie couldn't help but smile a little at her behavior. She sure was a bad liar, but at least she was always honest. He liked that about her since HE was the compulsive liar out of the two of them. He didn't need another person lying.

"Well…do you wanna do something else after school, then?" Webby suggested, grinning once again. "Ooh, I know! We could go to the park!"

"The _park?_ "

"Yeah, yeah! We could go there, grab some food at the ice cream truck," she listed. "You know, maybe go for a walk…in the direction of your house…"

…Oh.

Louie rolled his eyes, exasperated. He flicked a piece of food from his tray at Webby, who dodged it. "You just really want to see my house, don't you?"

"Pleeeeaaaase..?" Webby pleaded once more, clasping her hands together. "I'm really curious..! I'll…I'll give you five dollars!"

Louie groaned. Lunchtime would be over soon, he could tell. He knew Webby wouldn't let it go until the bell rang. She was determined.

"…Fine. Meet me at the gates when school ends," Louie sighed, defeated. Maybe this won't be so bad. He's forgetting what kind of person Webby is. She's not the type to judge so easily based on someone's house. She's not shallow.

A huge, bright smile stretched across Webby's face. She jumped up from her seat and ran over, wrapping her arms around Louie. "AHH, FINALLY!"

Louie grimaced. Guess this was happening. It'll be fine, it'll be fine. He just needs to keep telling himself that.

He really needs to learn how to say no to this girl.

An hour or two later, the bell rung, signaling the end of the school day. Students flooded the halls, eager to leave school and go home. This was the absolute most chaotic time of the day, even more chaotic than the start. If Louie was having trouble getting through the halls earlier, this was five times worse. Everyone was literally rampaging through the halls, trying to escape the confines of the school.

Dramatic, sure, but that's what it seemed like to him.

Louie grabbed his bag out of his locker and shut the door. He turned around, watching the stampeding kids running out of the halls. He waited until there was a gap in the traffic, then proceeded to join the current flowing out of the corridor.

Soon enough, Louie reached the end, stepping out into the cool fresh air outside. All the other kids flooded outside as well, excitedly walking out the gate. Louie looked around, trying to find Webby.

Then he saw her, standing by the gate, idly waiting for him. She looked somewhat excited…and he knew why. He sighed and then walked over to her.

"Hey, Louie!" Webby greeted happily when she saw him. She gripped the straps of her backpack, grinning like an idiot. "Hehe, lead the way!"

Louie paused for a second, then smirked. "Alright, to the park we go."

Webby frowned as Louie started walking away from the school gates, headed in the direction of the park. "Hey, wait..! You said you'd show me your house..!"

"And _you_ said that we'd do that after we went to the park."

Webby groaned, frustrated. "Why did I say that..?"

Louie smirked and kept walking, making Webby follow him. He looked at her smugly. "Hey, if you wanna change your mind, we can just not go to my house at all."

"Why are you trying so hard to stop me from seeing your home?" Webby asked, her tone both curious and a little frustrated. Louie looked at her, his smug smirk fading into a small frown.

"Because I…"

"Hm..?"

Louie looked away from her for a few seconds, shutting his mouth. He then went back to his smug façade, trying to cover up any sort of sincerity. "Because…I have to stay mysterious, ya know? It's part of my reputation."

Webby frowned, unamused. She raised an eyebrow, looking like she didn't believe him. "Your reputation? Louie, we're best friends, you don't have to be 'mysterious' around me, you know?"

They continued walking down the footpath, ignoring everything around them. Louie stared at the ground, trying to avoid eye contact with Webby. He didn't actually…care about keeping his reputation up in front of her. He just used that as an excuse…

"Yeah, I know…" he replied, sighing. Louie looked at her, nudging her with his elbow. "What about you, huh? Why won't you show me your house?"

"O-Oh," Webby stuttered, surprised by the question. "I just, uh…need to ask my granny if I'm allowed to have visitors, that's all…"

"Ah."

That was her usual answer, though Louie never really believed it. Both of them were secretive, he realized. That wasn't exactly a good thing, was it? Louie and Webby have been friends for a while, but he's just now realizing how little she knows about him.

She doesn't know about his homework business.

She doesn't know about his "house".

She doesn't really know…anything, really.

Louie halted in his tracks. Webby looked at him, confused. She saw him standing still, looking at the ground.

"Louie? What's wrong?"

There were a few seconds of silence. It seemed like Louie was frozen or something. Webby grew a little concerned, waving a hand in front of his face.

"Helloooo..?" she called, quietly, trying to get a reaction from him. "Louie, if you're still alive, blink once for yes and zero times for no..!"

"Let's go."

"Huh?"

Louie looked at her with a neutral face. He held his hand out. "Let's go to my house. That's what you wanted to see, right?"

"Well…yeah, but," Webby replied, surprised by his sudden change of attitude. "Weren't you just saying-?"

"Yeah, well, I changed my mind," Louie interrupted, shrugging. Webby stared at him, trying to figure out what happened to make him change his mind so quickly.

After a while, Webby took his hand in hers, deciding not to question. "Well, if you're sure...then let's go."

Louie led the way, walking in the direction opposite to where they were previously going. Webby followed him silently, occasionally looking at the houses they passed by, wondering which one was his.

Webby kept trying to guess which house in the neighborhoods belonged to Louie. Each time, she got it wrong, as she felt Louie tug on her hand, indicating that she should keep walking. All of the houses in the neighborhood still seemed pretty average, though. She didn't know what Louie had to hide.

However, what she didn't expect was for Louie to lead her past the neighborhoods.

No, instead, the two ducks kept walking. They kept walking until they reached…the edge of Duckburg. Webby saw boats floating on the waters of the city, wooden docks lined up next to each boat. This was when Louie stopped walking.

Webby looked at him, confused. "Why did you bring me to the docks? I thought we were going to your house?"

"Yeah, no, we're here," Louie merely answered, gesturing towards the boats. He pointed to one, a solemn frown on his face. "That's the one I live in."

Webby blinked, staring at the boat in which he called a home. It gently bobbed up and down ever so slightly on the waves. It was small, she noticed. This…was where he lived? In a boat? Not an actual house?

"It's kinda small," Louie says, watching her reaction. "It's just me and my Uncle Donald who live in it. Not exactly a normal home, I know."

"This is what you were hiding?" Webby asked, perplexed. Louie nodded, making her only more confused. "But this isn't bad at all..! Actually, living in a boat sounds kind of cool..!"

"Yeah, well," Louie shrugged, a pained smile on his face. "It's not as cool when you can barely afford to keep it."

"O-Oh…"

"My Uncle Donald doesn't really have a job, so…" he explained, his tone casual. "…Let's just say, we aren't the richest people."

"Oh gosh…Louie, I had no idea," Webby said, sadly. She really didn't know. Is this why Louie was always so money-hungry?

Louie shook his head, chuckling. "Weird, right? You had no idea. You think I would've told you earlier, am I right?"

"…If your uncle doesn't have a job…" Webby started, somewhat confused. She paused and then continued. "Where do you get the money to pay for things..?"

"Well, it's not like we're bankrupt or anything. I think Uncle Donald still has a bit of cash in the bank. I don't know, actually. He doesn't really tell me about this sort of thing. Probably doesn't want me to worry," Louie replied, trying to act nonchalant about it.

"Ah…"

"I think he tries to get as many jobs as he can. Can't really seem to hold one down, though. So, I…" Louie paused, hesitating. He then looked away. "…I do other students' homework in exchange for money or something."

In retrospect, it doesn't sound that bad to him. However, he knew it was a bigger deal for Webby…

"You what?!" she exclaimed, flabbergasted. There it was, there was the reaction. She dropped her voice to a worried whisper. "Isn't that like…not allowed..?!"

"Mhm."

"Louie..!" Webby whispered, worriedly. "What if you get in trouble..?"

"Relax, Webbs. I've got it handled," Louie assured her, putting his hands on her shoulders. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out the money he had acquired earlier. "See? It's worth it."

Webby frowned, looking antsy. "Still…I didn't know about all of this stuff. I mean, I guess I didn't _need_ to know and I guess you never needed to tell me…but still."

"Well, I've never been too eager to share my life story with anyone. Gotta keep my mysterious reputation, you know what I mean?" Louie joked, referencing to what he said earlier.

"Why _are_ you trying to be so mysterious to everyone? You barely talk to anyone but me…"

"Because I don't want everyone to know who I am when my life is like…this..!" Louie said, gesturing towards the boat. "I don't want to be known as the kid who's poor, Webby. I don't want that to be my reputation..!"

"…"

"I'm waiting 'til I'm, you know…richer. So that I have a better image and stuff when people do notice me…" Louie trailed off, shrugging. "So for now, I'm staying low so that they won't see how sucky my life is."

"I'm sure it's not that bad, Louie. You have an uncle who loves you, you have the best friend you could ask for," Webby joked proudly, making Louie laugh a little. "See? It's not so bad..!"

Louie smiled softly. Her idea of the perfect life and his were very different, he could tell. However, he could see where she was coming from. Yeah, he's lucky that he has Uncle Donald. And he's lucky that he has Webby too. Both of them were part of the reason why Louie hasn't just given up yet.

Though, having more money would make everything much easier for him and his uncle.

"Speaking of which…" Louie said slowly. He grinned. "What are we standing out here for? I think my Uncle Donald will wanna meet you."

A bright and excited expression appeared on Webby's face instantly, slightly taking Louie by surprise. She held his hand with both of hers, jumping up and down. "Ooh..! Yeah, yeah, can we?! I really wanna meet him..!"

Louie pulled his hand away from hers, laughing at her enthusiasm. He feels like they were even closer now that he actually told her more about his life. Good. It's a start. Hopefully, Webby was right when she said that his life wasn't so bad. He needs to remember that while it could definitely be better, it could be much, much worse.

That doesn't mean he has to stop trying to earn more out of it. He's working his way up there…he just…has to remember everything that he has now.

He can do that. As long as he still has his Uncle, he'll be fine.

"Come on, let's go see him."

* * *

 **Aaaand that's Louie's chapter, thus marks the end of the not-triplet's introduction chapters! These were kinda hard for me to write for some reason, however, I wanted to get these published for those who wanted more from the Unrelated AU! I'll be honest, I'm still very much building up the AU, but I've got a whole bunch of stories planned out..!**

 **So get ready for those! :D**

 **Well, I have nothing else to say so...bye!**


	4. That Day

**Chapter Summary:**

 **Dewey reflects on the day everything had changed for him when he was eight years old. The day he moved into the mansion, the day he met Webby and everyone else at McDuck Manor, and most importantly, the day his own parents had perished...**

 **It wasn't a pleasant memory but it was one he couldn't forget.**

* * *

Dewey remembers the first day he moved into the mansion. It was an unforgettable day. But it wasn't really because he got to move in with his rich uncle or because he met Webby…it was actually because it was the day his parents died. So yeah. It was pretty sad in hindsight…

Before that day, he and his parents always lived in a really nice house. They would never really visit Uncle Scrooge's mansion because they never needed to. Scrooge was always happy to visit Dewey and his parents at their own house. Ah…back when Scrooge wasn't always cooped up in the mansion.

Though Dewey always remembered begging his parents to show him the manor, he never thought that he would be living in it now. He always dreamed it would be so much fun. Mansions were big and mysterious, so he could explore a lot of it..! He also knew that Scrooge and his parents all went on super cool adventures, so they probably kept a whole bunch of souvenirs at McDuck Manor..!

So…that's most of the reasons why he always wanted to go to the mansion. However, they never really visited it, much to his disappointment.

Speaking of his parents…

Dewey always recalled that his parents were as adventurous as Scrooge used to be. His dad was called Greyson McDuck. He was very much like Dewey, always outgoing and eager to try new things. His dad was the type of guy to act before he spoke, which is probably why Dewey's like that too.

His mom was called Daphne McDuck. Dewey's sure that she was more of a planner than his dad. Yeah, she was definitely way more organized, kind of like Scrooge. She was still outgoing and sociable, though. She was great…

They were both great. His mom, dad, and Scrooge would always leave Dewey with a babysitter while they were out on adventures. Dewey always wanted to come, but they never let him. It was fine. He knew he could join them when he was older, so he waited patiently.

So, he always stayed back at home with his babysitter. But when his parents came home, Dewey would always repeatedly ask them what they did until they told him everything.

The two of them didn't need much persuading though. They would always tell him stories of their adventures every single day. And they've told him some pretty insane things too! Like, one time they met a group of vampires! Oh, and when they almost fell in a pit full of the undead..! And the time _they_ almost died!

…

Yeah, the stories got spooky sometimes. And sometimes they didn't really make for the best bedtime stories, but they were still Dewey's favorite part of the day…

He would always be looking forward to when his parents got home just so that they could sit down with him and tell him about their exciting adventure of the day. Every single time they did, Dewey's dreams of joining became stronger. They would tell him the story, then tuck him into bed. Then Dewey would fall asleep, dreaming of his own crazy adventure while he slumbered.

All he could do was dream, but no one stopped him or said he couldn't. It was kind of different nowadays…he wasn't sure why that had to be, though.

He thought maybe it was because Uncle Scrooge was the one taking care of him now. Scrooge was pretty grounded in reality nowadays. It seemed like he did not have time for dreams and he was just pushing his mentality onto Dewey.

But then Dewey realized something didn't add up. Yes, Scrooge was like that. However, he wasn't always so…boring. He used to have goals and dreams! He used to be way more ambitious! Why else would Dewey have looked up to him? Why else would he have gone on those adventures in the first place?

So yeah, Scrooge was probably the only thing stopping Dewey right now…but that's only because his uncle changed…

Dewey thought about this a lot. He always wondered when that happened. He wondered exactly when Scrooge's whole demeanor changed. And after some thinking, he thinks he might know.

Coincidentally, it was the same day Dewey moved into the mansion.

…

It wasn't too long ago, maybe a few years ago. Dewey was about eight-years-old. He was in his family's old house, playing with a fake sword while his babysitter sat on the couch and played on her phone.

It was okay, Dewey was very easily entertained. And he was doing a good job at entertaining himself too! He swung the fake sword around, making swooshing noises with his mouth. He was pretending to fight a big and scary monster in a cold, scary dungeon.

"Whoosh! Take that! And that!" he cried at the ferocious imaginary monster.

His babysitter –who he had mentally given the name "Ms. Babysitter" – looked up every now and then from her phone to make sure he hadn't accidentally hurt himself. Something he did way too many times before. Dewey wasn't… he wasn't the safest child. So she always had to glance at him every once in a while to make sure he hadn't done anything reckless.

Likewise, Dewey always glanced at the clock on a nearby wall every so often, waiting. Today was no different. As he looked up at the clock, he saw it. It was only a few minutes before his parents would get back home.

It wasn't that he didn't like his babysitter, no. He just wanted to hear his mom and dad's story of the day, that's all!

This was a normal day for him. Dreaming every day for the day he'd become an adventurer with no one telling him otherwise, waiting for his parents to come home and tell him everything about their day. This…this was Dewey's life.

 ** _DING DONG_**

Dewey and Ms. Babysitter looked up at the sound of the doorbell ringing.

"Must be your parents," she said, sitting up from the couch. She looked at the clock on the wall. "A little early, though, huh..?"

Dewey didn't seem bothered by this. He didn't see anything wrong with that. The earlier they were, the earlier he could see what kind of cool thing they got today!

As the older person walked away to answer the door, Dewey put down his sword and sat down on the couch, waiting patiently like a good child.

A few seconds passed by. However, instead of Ms. Babysitter coming back with his parents following her…instead of hearing his dad's usual greeting…instead of any of his parents being present…

…It was his Uncle Scrooge.

"Oh! Hi, Uncle Scrooge!" Dewey greeted happily when he saw the old man. He wasn't expecting to see him here at this time. He looked around. He could only see Scrooge and Ms. Babysitter, but still no parents. "Where's mom and dad?"

Scrooge had a small and sad frown on his face as he and the babysitter shared a grave look with each other. Dewey didn't know what was going through their heads, though. He looked at the two of them, confused.

The Scottish duck picked Dewey up and sat on the couch, sitting Dewey on his lap. "Dewey, there's something you need to know…"

"Hm?"

"Your parents…are gone."

"Where did they go?" Dewey asked innocently, looking around again. Scrooge looked at him sadly and sighed.

"Listen...we were off exploring in some ruins. And there was an accident…"

"A-An accident?"

"Yes…" It sounded like Scrooge was have some trouble explaining it to him. It also sounded like he was having trouble talking about it at all. "There was a trap that we didn't see coming…"

"Were mom and dad okay?" Dewey asked, concerned. "Are they hurt?"

"Dewey…" his babysitter spoke up, looking concerned and sorry. His uncle probably told her already, but Dewey was still in the dark. He didn't like being in the dark.

Scrooge took a deep breath and stayed silent for a few seconds. He struggled to find the words to say it, but sure enough, after a while, he got it out.

"Your parents are dead, Dewey…"

"…"

There was a very long moment of silence. For a moment, all of Dewey's thoughts seemed to suddenly come to a halt. His mind was blank. His stomach dropped. It took a while for Scrooge's words to process in Dewey's mind.

 _Your parents are dead, Dewey…_

…

"…No, they're not…" The young boy said very quietly.

"What?"

"They're not dead," Dewey insisted, refusing to fall for Scrooge's prank. "They were here earlier today..!"

"Lad…they perished on the mission. I know, it was very sudden but…" Scrooge tried to explain. However, Dewey wasn't having any of it.

"Stop joking with me, Uncle Scrooge, i-it's not very funny..!" Tears welled up in Dewey's eyes, even though he knew Scrooge wasn't telling the truth. It was probably because he didn't like the thought of that actually happening, that's all.

"I'm not joking, sonny…"

Dewey wiped the tears from his eyes. He didn't want Scrooge thinking that he was falling for the prank. That would be stupid.

Because he knew…he KNEW it was just a joke. Any moment, his mom and dad would walk through the door like "Surprise! He was just kidding!"

Dewey got off of Scrooge's lap and ran past his babysitter, heading to the front door, determined to catch his parents and show them that he wasn't as gullible as they thought.

"Dewey..!" Scrooge and Ms. Babysitter exclaimed in unison, following close behind him. They struggled to keep up with the quick child as he sped to the front door.

Opening the door, Dewey ran outside in the front yard. "Mom? Dad?"

He looked around. However…the porch was empty. The front yard was empty. Heck, even the streets were quiet. Regardless, neither his mom nor dad were present.

…They were probably hiding though, right..? Yeah..! They always played hide and seek with him! Granted, he was usually the hider, but whatever..!

"Guuuys, stop hiding..!" He called out, checking around the yard for them. He looked under every potted plant, every item on the yard. They were tall, so it probably wouldn't be easy for them to hide, so this should be easy.

..But if that was the case, why couldn't Dewey find them?

"Mooom..! Come out..! I know it's just a prank..!" He continued calling out, trying not to get steadily more worried. "Daaaad?"

Scrooge and the babysitter watched him search, both looking incredibly sad and pitiful. Ms. Babysitter looked heartbroken at what she was witnessing. Dewey didn't pay any attention to them, though. He didn't even understand why they looked so sad in the first place. They had no reason to be.

But he still couldn't find his parents…

"Dewford," Scrooge spoke up, getting Dewey's attention. Dewey looked up at him, frowning.

"W-Where are they hiding..?"

"They aren't hiding, lad…" The old duck sighed and went over to the small duck. He kneeled down and looked at him. Scrooge looked like he was trying not to cry. "Your mother and father are gone, Dewey. Don't make this any more difficult than it needs to be, okay..?"

Dewey stared in his uncle's eyes for a while. He tried to find any kind of hint that he was lying. He tried to find _some_ sort of evidence that this was all just a mean joke…

But he found nothing.

"They're really..?"

"Yes…"

"They're never coming back..?"

"…Yes."

Dewey has always been a happy child with a happy life. He's never felt true grief before. Of course, he's cried in the past, but all for petty reasons.

So when he felt his world crashed down on him…

When he was forced to accept the truth…

…It wasn't a great feeling…

All Dewey remembers from that moment was him finally feeling that awful, sinking feeling of despair. He remembers crying, even if he didn't want to. The tears just poured out uncontrollably, but he couldn't stop it. He remembers hugging his uncle tight with the intention of never letting go, probably afraid that Scrooge would disappear too if he did.

He remembers Scrooge picking him up and saying something to the babysitter. Dewey didn't hear what. He was still too busy wailing and sobbing to notice or to care.

 _What was going on?! What happened to his parents?! Why aren't they here with him?! What's happening?!_

He recalls Scrooge carrying him to the car and putting Dewey in the backseat. Scrooge sat in the seat next to him and closed the door.

"Back to the mansion, please, Launchpad."

"…You got it, Mr. McD," the guy driving the car said. Dewey's vision was too blurred by his tears. He leaned against his uncle and closed his eyes, trying to stop himself from crying anymore.

As he felt the car's engine rev, Dewey felt more exhausted. He felt tired for some reason as if crying had consumed a lot of his energy. Tears still streamed down his face, but he had stopped sobbing after a few minutes of driving. He felt himself get more tired and sleepy, completely worn out. It didn't help that the whole car was extremely silent, either.

Dewey slowly, but surely felt his consciousness slipping away from the real world.

He had hoped it was all a bad dream. He hoped to sleep, then wake up to his normal life again. His parents would be there to comfort him and tell him that his nightmare hadn't been real. He would be happy and forget about all of this by breakfast.

That was the plan, anyway. So with that, Dewey let himself drift to sleep, hoping for the best.

Hope. That was all Dewey ever needed. But for some reason, it decided not to work this time.

When the young boy had opened his eyes after his short nap, he found that, unlike his wishes, he was still in Uncle Scrooge's car, with Scrooge next to him. He wasn't in bed, he wasn't at home.

That hadn't been a dream.

The second thing he noticed was that the car seemed to have stopped. Dewey looked outside the window to see where they were. There, behind the vehicle, was a large gate. A fancy gate. It wasn't his home.

"Come on, lad…" He heard Scrooge say quietly as he felt his seatbelt release its hold on him. Scrooge held Dewey's hand and led him out of the car. Once outside, Dewey could see the full view of the mansion now.

He could see the mountain of stairs that led up to it, seeming like they could go on forever. He could see a few peacocks too. Rich people just bought them because they looked pretty, he supposed.

All of this was supposed to amaze him. He was supposed to be in awe, already bounding up the steps, making his way up to the manor he so desperately wanted to visit.

However, he felt no excitement. It wasn't his home, so it didn't matter. He just wanted to go back to the house, somewhere he was familiar with.

"Why are we here..?" Dewey quietly asked as Scrooge led him up the steps. _Are Mom and Dad here? No? Then what?_

"You…You'll be living here from now on…" The old duck responded, continuing his way up. "I'm going to be taking care of you now, alright?"

"…"

Dewey wasn't sure how to respond, in all honesty. The only thing that went through his mind when he heard that was that his parents wouldn't- _couldn't_ be the ones to take care of him anymore. That's the only reason he's staying with his uncle.

…

"…Okay…" the child said in what sounded like a defeated whisper. He felt too tired to cry anymore. There was an aching feeling his chest, but he tried to ignore it. It didn't stop him from staring at the ground the whole time, though, as they got to the front of the mansion.

He briefly raised his head and looked around at the large manor. He had hoped that seeing it up close would help distract him from the sadness he felt, but to his disappointment, it did nothing.

Mostly because this wasn't how he saw himself when he imagined visiting this place for the first time.

Scrooge led him through the front doors and together, they stepped inside the foyer. As opposed to the cold concrete outside, the inside was carpeted and warm. There was a fireplace, a bunch of paintings, a few weird things Dewey didn't recognize, and more. He guessed those items were from adventures…

So he was right. They always brought souvenirs back here, to the mansion…

…What item would they have brought back today if mom and dad had survived..?

Dewey closed his eyes, that sad feeling eating at his insides again. It didn't matter, did it? He wouldn't care if they hadn't brought back a souvenir back to him, as long as they themselves had come back…he would have been perfectly fine with that.

"Beakley…" he heard his uncle's voice again. Dewey opened his eyes slightly. He could see a large woman in front of them. He couldn't see her expression, as he immediately went back to looking back at the floor. He didn't want to look at anyone right now.

"Welcome back…" she said in her very British accent. Scrooge had gently let go of Dewey's hand, in which Dewey almost instinctively grabbed it again. Almost.

"Show my nephew his new room…please. I need to make some phone calls…"

"Alright."

Dewey felt Scrooge's presence leave the room. Now, he was left with the large woman in the foyer. He continued to look down, too…sad to say or do anything.

In his peripheral vision, he saw the woman kneel down in front of him. Dewey inclined his head slightly and finally looked up at her. She wore framed glasses and she wore her grey hair up in a bun. She seemed very strong, but she also seemed old. There was a certain "motherly" vibe about her, but he couldn't really pin it down to one specific part about her.

Though, she wasn't _his_ mom.

"Hello. I am…Mrs. Beakley," she introduced herself, holding out her hand. "…Your uncle's housekeeper."

"I'm Dewey…" Dewey responded though he didn't seem in much of a mood to talk. Still, he shook Mrs. Beakley's hand politely. He might be sad, but that doesn't mean he should be rude.

"Follow me. I'll show you to your new room here at the mansion," Mrs. Beakley softly said, standing up. Dewey silently nodded, not really caring too much.

She led the way, slowing her pace to make sure that he was indeed following her. Dewey allowed himself to look around as they traveled down the long halls as if that would help cheer him up. He wasn't even sure if he wanted to be cheered up, though.

"In here is your room," Beakley said, coming to a stop in front of a door. She opened the door and stepped to the side, allowing Dewey to enter the room first.

As he did, he took note of how it looked. It was bigger than his last room. However, it was awfully plain. None of his toys were sprinkled across the floor, the bed was neat and tidy without a splash of blue, and the walls were blank without anything on it.

He should have expected it, of course. However, he was just reminded that it was not his old bedroom. That's when he realized- if he was going to be living here now, he wasn't going back to his old house, was he?

Of course, he wasn't...

"All my stuff's back at home…" he quietly said, without realizing it. Maybe that was a good enough reason for him to go back. I mean, he can't just leave everything. Beakley looked at him.

"Don't worry. Your uncle will ensure that all of your belongings will be brought here," she assured him.

…Well, there goes that plan.

"Okay…"

Dewey sighed and went over to the bed. He climbed on and sat down. He decided already that he didn't like it as much. However, he didn't complain. Right now, he just wanted to be alone.

Thoughts swirled in his mind as he tried to decide what to do now. What would he do? He didn't think he'd be in this position. He didn't think he'd be in a situation where he'd move in with his uncle only because his parents weren't around to care for him anymore.

Because they were gone.

They were dead.

…Dead.

He could never speak to the both of them again. They will never be there to tell him stories, they will never be there to comfort him or play with him, they will not be there if he ever needed them…not anymore.

The thought of that caused the aching feeling in his heart again. It was painful…but not like a boo-boo kind of painful or stomachache kind of painful. It was like…a feeling that hurt him from the inside.

It made him feel tempted to cry again.

Dewey tried to blink back any tears that wanted to form. He didn't want to cry in front of a stranger- or rather, someone he just met. That would be…embarrassing.

"…Can…Can I be alone for a bit..?" he asked, hoping she would leave before he started bawling again.

"…Of course," He heard Beakley close the door as she left, relieved that she had not insisted on staying or anything.

Good…

Now alone, Dewey waited a few seconds before he let himself collapse in a mess of tears. He wrapped his arms around his knees and tucked his head into them, choking back sobs.

He thought that he would have stopped crying by now. But no, he was still going. Is this how it feels to have someone you love die? Just an endless feeling of sadness? Still, even though he was crying uncontrollably, it did help him feel better…in a way.

There was no other way he could express what he was feeling right now. So he allowed himself to do this, just this once.

What was he going to do without his parents, though..? How different was his life going to be now..? Without them…without them, he doesn't know if he can do _anything_.

Yes, Uncle Scrooge is cool. But he's not mom and dad. They were special, they were his go-to when he needed comforting. They were his family.

Now…they're not even here.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Dewey heard the door creak open. Perhaps it was Mrs. Beakley again. Maybe it was his uncle. Regardless, he kept his face buried in his knees, determined to stay in that position forever.

"…Hello?"

The voice he heard was unfamiliar. It was a girl's voice. She sounded young, maybe the same age as him.

…He didn't know there was another kid at the mansion.

Dewey lifted his head slightly to look at the new kid. The young girl stared back at him, her eyes curious. The most notable feature was the pink bow that sat atop her head, along with the small doll she held in her hands. Additionally, it seemed that she WAS his age.

The girl was looking at him with some concern, he noticed.

"…W-Who're you?" Dewey cautiously asked, his voice shaky.

"I'm Webby Vanderquack!" she introduced herself gleefully, although it wasn't a very cheerful moment for him, so he doesn't know why she's so happy.

"Why are you here?" It was a very blunt question, but Dewey didn't really care too much.

Webby didn't seem to be fazed, though. "Oh..! My granny's the housekeeper. She said you were coming today..! She told me to go check on you."

"…Ah."

That was all he had to say. Yeah, he was surprised that there was a random girl here, but he was too upset to give it any thought. He wasn't in the mood for talking, either.

Dewey nestled his head in his arms again and looked to the side, away from Webby. If she was going to be there, fine. He just wants it to be quiet for now. The other kid seemed to be a little restless in the awkward silence, though.

"So…" she spoke up after a while. "You're Mr. McDuck's nephew, right? Dewey McDuck?"

"Yep."

"That's cool. I-I've always kinda read a lot about your family, so I always wanted to meet you..!" her tone was lighthearted, but there was an air of awkwardness to it. Perhaps it's because Dewey didn't seem to be holding the conversation at all.

He felt bad about it, but maybe she would get the hint that he wanted to be alone now. He wiped away his tears, even though he knew that she had already seen them.

"Nice to meet you then…" he replied, still looking away.

"U-Um…so, I heard you're gonna be staying here from now on," Webby stuttered, sensing the atmosphere. She sensed it, but it didn't stop her from talking more. "It's really nice here..! This place might seem really big but you'll get used to it..!"

"Mhm…"

"M-Maybe I can show you around sometime..!" Webby offered. She was really persistent in talking to him. Admittedly, Dewey was a little…annoyed.

"Cool," he replied in a monotone voice, with a hint of stern finality. Webby fell silent afterward, catching the hint finally. Dewey felt a little bit of relief at this, though he felt a little bit guilty too.

Listen, he likes talking to people. He likes making new friends. Now was just…not the time. Maybe he should tell her that. But...whatever.

In the silence, Dewey held in any temptation to sob again. So instead, he just sat frozen in the same position, unable to look Webby in the eye, unable to say or do anything. He seemed to stay that way forever and he had no intention of moving.

However, after a while, he heard something that he wasn't expecting.

"…I'm sorry about your mom and dad."

Dewey's gaze shot up as he looked at her in surprise. Webby looked at him with a sorrowful frown, her cheery demeanor dropping immediately.

"I-I…met them a few times before. I'm really sorry that they…" She shut her mouth and looked down. "…I was just trying to cheer you up."

Dewey stared at her, not sure how to respond. He didn't even think she knew why he was upset. He thought she was just ignoring the fact he was crying. But no…

"Y-You knew them..?"

"Well, kind of, yeah…" Webby shrugged, twirling her hair in her fingers. "They were always really nice and – ah..!"

Her words were interrupted when Dewey suddenly lunged forward and wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. Webby looked at him in surprise, but then she felt him start crying into her shoulder. She returned the hug and pat him on the back, still a little taken aback by the sudden movement.

Dewey didn't really care, though. He didn't realize it at first but he just really needed to hug _someone_. His uncle wasn't here, and obviously, his parents weren't either. There was no one else but this random kid in his room. It was good enough, though.

He didn't know he found comfort in hugs, but now that he thinks about it, his mom's hugs always calmed him down when he was upset. That explained a lot…

The two children stayed like that for a while. It seemed to last for ages, at least to them. Slowly but surely, Dewey calmed down, his sobs dying down as well. Webby didn't say anything, not wanting to ruin the moment for him. When he had calmed down completely, the young boy spoke up again.

"Thanks…" Dewey sniffled, finally pulling away. He wiped his eyes. "S-Sorry about that…"

"No, it's okay..!" Webby assured him. Her left shoulder was soaked with tears now, but that was fine. "Are you okay now..?"

Dewey gave her a small nod and a small smile. Webby smiled back, glad he was feeling better.

"I'm still sad about mom and dad…but I feel better now," he fiddled with the bedsheets, sighing. "Sorry I wasn't being very nice earlier."

"It's okay, I get it," she replied, waving it off. "I know you're going through a lot now. I mean…even Mr. McDuck is really affected by this."

Dewey frowned. "It's just…this all happened today. It was really quick. Before I was home with my babysitter waiting for mom and dad to come home…now I'm here at my uncle's mansion…without them."

He continued talking, but he didn't know why. It just made him feel better. And it felt better than crying more. Besides, he thinks he's run out of tears. "I-I can't believe they're just…gone. Just like that..! I wasn't there, I didn't see it. I thought Uncle Scrooge was lying to me..."

Webby just nodded, listening to him.

"I-I never really knew anyone who died…so…to hear that mom and dad did is just…" Dewey shuddered. "…And it was earlier today too. It's just…it doesn't feel real."

"Mm, well, that's okay to feel like that," Webby replied, though Dewey wasn't sure if she even knew how he felt. She gave him a small smile, regardless. "I think that's normal for most people. But you'll feel better later, I think!"

"Really..?"

"Mhm..!" she nodded, seeming sure of herself. "And Mr. McDuck will too..! Hopefully."

Dewey hoped so as well. He hoped that he wouldn't have to feel like this forever, because he didn't like it one bit. It wasn't a nice feeling, but it seemed like the aching feeling in his chest had disappeared a little bit. It was still kind of there, but it felt ten times lighter.

"Thanks, Webby," he thanked, grateful that he had someone to talk to. "Today's been…the worst…but at least I made a new friend, right?"

He said that chuckling, but Webby seemed shocked and surprised at his statement for some unknown reason. She stared at him in surprise.

"…We're friends?" she asked him, bewildered. Dewey looked at her weirdly. A big grin stretched across her face. "Really?!"

"Uh, yeah-?" For a split second, the boy got alarmed at how excited she got. He wasn't really expecting that sort of reaction to something so simple. "I-I mean, you did help me feel better, so yeah..!"

Webby excitedly squealed and bounced in place, even though she was sitting down. She then stopped and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I've just, uh…never really had a friend. A proper friend, I mean. The only other people I get to talk to is Granny, Mr. McDuck, and Launchpad…and sometimes the mailman."

"You don't go outside?"

"Well, yeah, I do. But I'm not allowed to go outside the gates! Granny's a bit overprotective, haha," she giggled, although she didn't seem all too happy about it. "But that's okay. Maybe when I'm older, she'll let me go."

"That doesn't sound fun, though!" Dewey retorted, not understanding how she could be so okay with that. He can't imagine not going outside and meeting new people. He'd probably die of boredom. Poor Webby. "You need to go out and make friends..!"

Webby shrugged. "I can't really change Granny's mind, though…"

"Well, then, I'll help you!" Dewey offered. "I'll help you convince your grandma to let you go out into the city one day!"

"Really?"

"Yeah! I was the best at convincing my parents into letting me do whatever!" Dewey said, brightly. He faltered a little bit after he had mentioned his parents again, but he tried to shake it off. "Besides…you helped me feel better about mom and dad. So I'll help you too!"

He held out his hand in front of her, waiting for her response. Webby looked down at his hand, then at his face. After a while, she grinned and took Dewey's hand in her own, shaking it.

"Okay, then!"

Actually, now that Dewey looks back on it, it took a while for him to fulfill his promise to Webby. Like…it took a few years. Turns out Beakley was not an easily convinced person. Or maybe Dewey's persuading skills could've used a bit of work, but whatever! He got there eventually! Now Webby's attending school, meeting new people, and she really seems to love it.

So he'd say he fulfilled his promise quite well.

Though he had managed to convince Beakley to let Webby out after a while, it was taking him a lot longer to convince Uncle Scrooge to let him go on adventures.

You'd think he would've achieved that by now, but nope. After _that_ day, it seemed Scrooge wanted nothing more to do with adventuring. It made sense, to be honest. Considering Dewey's parents had perished on an adventure, it made sense that Scrooge wanted to stay away from that for a while.

Actually, for a bit, Dewey hadn't wanted to partake in them anymore as well. However, it took him only a year or two to get over his fears. Now, he was up and ready to journey out into the world at any second…as soon as his uncle agreed.

Dewey thought that Scrooge would have gotten over his fears as well around the same time as he did, but the boy wasn't quite sure where Scrooge stood with adventures anymore. He has been very distant lately. Webby says it's because the trillionaire actually _is_ going on some wacky journey all of those times he is absent. Dewey likes to believe that's the case because assuming Scrooge disappears to do work would be boring. Way too boring.

Besides, he doesn't want to believe that his uncle had retired from adventuring for good. That couldn't be the case. Sure, after that day, he hadn't really seen Scrooge depart on a journey…at all. However, he barely sees the old duck anyway, so what does Dewey know? He could be fighting some monsters or uncovering secret treasures while Dewey's at school for all he knows.

Scrooge _has_ to still be an adventurer.

And one day, he'll take Dewey with him. He'll make sure of it. It'll only take a bit more persuading, but it'll happen one day.

They'll venture out into the world and Dewey will prove to him why he's fit for the job. Greyson and Daphne McDuck had been two of the most ambitious people the young boy had ever known. He knows that he is just like them and he knows that he is just as ambitious.

And he's determined to not end up the same way as they did.

He'll make Scrooge proud.

He'll make _them_ proud, too.

* * *

 **Hey, hey! This is still going on, haha. I'm hoping to get more chapters of this AU out soon because I really want to expand on the Unrelated!AU that I made..! This chapter was more of a backstory, telling the story of when Dewey first got to the mansion. It's a little bit of a bummer, but I felt it was important. I'll probably write another chapter focusing solely on Greyson and Daphne when they were alive to give them more depth too!**

 **I'll still be working on my other fics, don't worry. I just wanted to write more oneshots for the Unrelated!AU because frankly, I have a lot of ideas that I wanna showcase ;w;**

 **Hope you liked this chapter, though! More to come soon! Bye!**


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